[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 92 (Monday, July 17, 2000)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D756-D760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                              Monday, July 17, 2000

[[Page D756]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed Legislative Branch Appropriations bill.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S6991-S7082
Measures Introduced: Five bills and two resolutions were introduced, as 
follows: S. 2878-2882, S.J. Res. 50, and S. Res. 337.
  Page S7072
Measures Reported: Reports were made as follows:
  S. 2487, to authorize appropriations for Fiscal Year 2001 for certain 
maritime programs of the Department of Transportation, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 106-345) 
                                                             Page S7072
Measures Passed:
  Legislative Branch Appropriations: Senate passed H.R. 4516, making 
appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2001, after incorporating the text of S. 2603, Senate 
companion measure, and after agreeing to the following amendment 
proposed thereto, as follows:
  Pages S7057-65
  Boxer Amendment No. 3909, to limit funds for the preventative 
application of a pesticide containing a known or probable carcinogen, a 
category I or II acute nerve toxin or a pesticide of the 
organophosphate, carbamate, or organochlorine class as determined by 
the Environmental Protection Agency to U.S. Capitol buildings or 
grounds maintained or administered by the Architect of the U.S. 
Capitol.
Page S7057
  Senate insisted on its amendments, request a conference with the 
House thereon, and the Chair was authorized to appoint the following 
conferees on the part of the Senate: Senators Bennett, Stevens, Craig, 
Cochran, Feinstein, Durbin, and Byrd.
Page S7065
  Death of Former Senator Pastore: Senate agreed to S. Res. 337, 
relative to the death of the Honorable John O. Pastore, formerly a 
Senator from the State of Rhode Island.
  Pages S7081-82
Interior Appropriations: Senate resumed consideration of H.R. 4578, 
making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, taking action 
on the following amendments proposed thereto: 
                                     Pages S7007-09, S7014-43, S7055-57
Adopted:
  Roth (for Daschle) Amendment No. 3778, to designate funds for the 
United Sioux Tribes of South Dakota Development Corporation for the 
purpose of employment assistance.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Edwards) Modified Amendment No. 3779, to make funds 
available for the acquisition of lands on the Pisgah National Forest. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Domenici) Modified Amendment No. 3784, to provide for the 
management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Stevens) Modified Amendment No. 3786, to direct monies from 
the federal subsistence account to the State of Alaska to provide 
effective dual management under the federal subsistence fisheries 
program.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Stevens) Modified Amendment No. 3787, to authorize the 
accrual of interest on escrow accounts established under section 1411 
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and relating to 
re-withdrawn lands.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3788, to provide monies to the City 
of Craig, Alaska in lieu of municipal land entitlements authorized 
under the Alaska Statehood Act.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3789, to provide for the relief of 
Harvey R. Redmond.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Ashcroft) Amendment No. 3889, to provide funding for the 
Department of the Interior to fight methamphetamine production and 
trafficking in our national forests.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Hatch) Amendment No. 3890, to provide funds for the 
construction of the Four Corners Interpretive Center.
  Roth Amendment No. 3891, to make funds available for the Lewes 
Maritime Historic Park.
Pages S7055-57

[[Page D757]]


  Roth (for Sessions) Amendment No. 3892, to provide funding to carry 
out exhibitions at and acquire interior furnishings for the Rosa Parks 
Library and Museum, Alabama, with an offset.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Sessions) Amendment No. 3893, to provide funding for 
acquisition of land around the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, 
Alabama, with an offset.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Landrieu/Breaux) Amendment No. 3894, to set aside funding 
for the development of a preservation plan for Cane River National 
Heritage Area, Louisiana.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Landrieu/Breaux) Amendment No. 3895, to set aside funding 
for the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training for 
the development of a model for heritage education through distance 
learning.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Feinstein) Amendment No. 3896, to make funds available for 
fuels reduction activities at Sequoia National Monument. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Chafee) Amendment No. 3897, to make certain technical 
corrections.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Murkowski) Amendment No. 3898, to create a curriculum for 
the instruction of Federal Land Managers in Alaska on the contents and 
legislative history of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Snowe) Amendment No. 3899, to set aside additional funding 
for the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Reid) Amendment No. 3900, to clarify terms of conveyance to 
Nye County, Nevada.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Edwards) Amendment No. 3901, to make funds available for 
law enforcement purposes on the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Edwards) Amendment No. 3902, to make funds available for 
``Surveys, Investigations, and Research'' to remain available until 
expended, to repair or replace stream monitoring equipment and 
associated facilities damaged by natural disasters.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Torricelli) Amendment No. 3903, to provide that funding 
shall be available to complete an updated study of the New York-New 
Jersey highlands under the Forest Stewardship Act of 1990. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Feingold/Kohl) Amendment No. 3904, to make funds available 
for the conduct of a wilderness suitability study at Apostle Islands 
National Lakeshore, Wisconsin.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Kerrey/Hagel) Amendment No. 3905, to set aside funding for 
the design and construction of educational and informational displays 
for the Missouri Recreation Rivers Research and Education Center, 
Nebraska.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Durbin) Amendment No. 3906, to provide that none of the 
funds in this Act may be used to establish a new National Wildlife 
Refuge in the Kankakee River basin unless a plan for such a refuge is 
consistent with a partnership agreement between the Fish and Wildlife 
Service and the Army Corp of Engineers.
Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Crapo) Amendment No. 3907, to help ensure general aviation 
aircraft access to Federal land and the airspace over that land. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
  Roth (for Gorton/Byrd) Amendment No. 3908, to limit certain funding. 
                                                         Pages S7055-57
Withdrawn:
  Thomas Amendment No. 3800, to provide authority for the Secretary of 
the Interior to conduct a study on the management of conflicting 
activities and uses.
Pages S7016-24
Pending:
  Reed Amendment No. 3798, to increase funding for weatherization 
assistance grants, with an offset.
Pages S7014-16
  Bryan/Fitzgerald Amendment No. 3883, to reduce the Forest Service 
timber sale budget by $30,000,000 and increase the wildland fire 
management budget by $15,000,000.
Pages S7024-27
  Lieberman Modified Amendment No. 3811, to provide funding for 
maintenance of a Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, with an offset. 
                                                         Pages S7027-29
  Nickles Amendment No. 3884, to defend the Constitutional system of 
checks and balances between the Legislative and Executive branches. 
                                                         Pages S7029-32
  Reid (for Boxer) Amendment No. 3885, to provide that none of the 
funds appropriated under this Act may be used for the preventive 
application of a pesticide containing a known or probable carcinogen, a 
category I or II acute nerve toxin or a pesticide of the 
organophosphate, carbamate, or organochlorine class as identified by 
the Environmental Protection Agency in National Parks in any area where 
children may be present.
Page S7032
  Gorton (for Bond) Amendment No. 3886, to prohibit use of funds for 
application of unapproved pesticides in certain areas that may be used 
by children.
Pages S7032-34
  Reid (for Bingaman) Amendment No. 3887, to express the sense of the 
Senate regarding the protection of Indian program monies from judgment 
fund claims.
Pages S7034-35
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the bill and certain amendments to be proposed 
thereto, on Tuesday, July 18, 2000.

[[Page D758]]

Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Reconciliation Act: Senate resumed 
consideration of H.R. 4810, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to 
section 103(a)(1) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal 
year 2001, striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu 
thereof the text of S. 2839, Senate companion measure, as an amendment, 
which was subsequently agreed to, and taking action on the following 
amendments proposed thereto:
  Pages S7043-55
Adopted:
  Roth (for Bond) Amendment No. 3851 (to Amendment No. 3850), to amend 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for 100 percent 
of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. 
                                                             Page S7049
  Reid (for Durbin) Amendment No. 3850, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to increase the deduction for health insurance costs of 
self-employed individuals.
Page S7049
  Reid (for Torricelli) Amendment No. 3854, to ensure that children 
enrolled in the Medicaid program at highest risk for lead poisoning are 
identified and treated.
Page S7050
  Reid (for Torricelli) Amendment No. 3855, to amend the Social 
Security Act to waive the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage 
of individuals disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 
                                                             Page S7050
  Reid (for Cleland) Amendment No. 3859, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to exclude United States savings bond income from gross 
income if used to pay long-term care expenses.
Page S7050
  Reid (for Cleland) Amendment No. 3860, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to expand the enhanced deduction for corporate donations 
of computer technology to public libraries and community centers. 
                                                         Pages S7050-51
  Dorgan Amendment No. 3877, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
to treat payments under the Conservation Reserve Program as rentals 
from real estate, expand the applicability of section 179 expensing, 
provide an exclusion for gain from the sale of farmland, and allow a 
deduction for 100 percent of the health insurance costs of self-
employed individuals.
Page S7050
  Landrieu Amendment No. 3888, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 to expand the adoption credit to provide assistance to adoptive 
parents of special needs children.
Pages S7048, S7050
Rejected:
  By 45 yeas to 49 nays (Vote No. 198), Feingold motion to commit the 
bill to the Committee on Finance with instructions that the Committee 
report it back along with legislation that would substantially extend 
the solvency of Social Security and Medicare.
Page S7043-44
  By 46 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 200), Moynihan Amendment No. 3863, in 
the nature of a substitute.
Page S7045
  Earlier, Amendment No. 3863 (listed above), was ruled germane.
  By 40 yeas to 56 nays (Vote No. 201), Feingold Amendment No. 3845, to 
strike the adjustment to the rate brackets and to further adjust the 
standard deduction.
Page S7046
Withdrawn:
  Reid (for Dodd) Amendment No. 3876, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to increase the unified credit exemption and the qualified 
family-owned business interest deduction, to increase, expand, and 
simplify the child and dependent care tax credit, to expand the 
adoption credit for special needs children, to provide incentives for 
employer-provided child care.
Pages S7043, S7051
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3868, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to maintain exemption of Alaska from dyeing requirements 
for exempt diesel fuel and kerosene.
Page S7043
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3869, to amend section 415 of the 
Internal Revenue Code.
Page S7043
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3870, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to provide a charitable deduction for certain expenses 
incurred in support of Native Alaskan subsistence whaling.
Page S7043
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3871, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code to provide for equitable treatment of trusts created to preserve 
the benefits of Alaska Native Settlement Act.
Page S7043
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3872, to clarify the tax treatment 
of passengers filling empty seats on noncommercial airplanes. 
                                                             Page S7043
  Roth (for Stevens) Amendment No. 3873, to amend title 26 of the 
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1986 to allow income averaging for fishermen 
without negative Alternative Minimum Tax treatment, for the creation of 
risk management accounts for fishermen.
Page S7043
  Brownback Modified Amendment No. 3849, to provide tax relief for 
farmers.
Page S7044
  Reid (for Torricelli) Amendment No. 3856, to amend the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to lower the adjusted gross income threshold for 
deductible disaster casualty losses to 5 percent, to make such 
deduction an above-the-line deduction, to allow an election to take 
such deduction for the preceding or

[[Page D759]]

succeeding year, and to eliminate the marriage penalty for individuals 
suffering casualty losses.
Page S7051
  Reid (for Torricelli) Amendment No. 3857, to amend the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the marriage penalty for individuals 
suffering casualty losses.
Page S7051
  Roth (for Grams) Amendment No. 3861, to repeal the increase in tax on 
Social Security benefits.
Page S7051
  Roth (for Abraham) Modified Amendment No. 3862, to express the sense 
of the Senate regarding the need to repeal the marriage tax penalty and 
improve coverage of prescription drugs under the Medicare program this 
year.
Page S7051
  Reid Amendment No. 3866 (to Amendment No. 3861), to express the sense 
of the Senate that the general fund transfer mechanism included in the 
Grams Social Security amendment should be used to extend the life of 
the Medicare trust fund through 2030, to ensure that Medicare remains a 
strong health insurance program for our nation's seniors and that its 
payments to health providers remain adequate.
Page S7051
  Roth (for Grams) Amendment No. 3867 (to Amendment No. 3861), to 
repeal the increase in tax on Social Security benefits.
Page S7051
  Reid (for Wellstone) No. 3879, to express the sense of the Senate 
regarding the restoration of reductions in payments under the Medicare 
program caused by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
Page S7051
  Reid (for Wellstone) No. 3880, to express the sense of the Senate 
regarding the restoration of reductions in payments under the Medicare 
program caused by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
Page S7051
  Nickles (for Lott) Amendment No. 3882, to provide a substitute. 
                                                             Page S7051
Pending:
  Burns Amendment No. 3874, to repeal of the modification of the 
installment method.
Page S7055
  Reid (for Hollings) Amendment No. 3875, to pay down the debt by 
striking the tax cuts.
Page S7055
  Nickles (for Lott) Amendment No. 3881, to provide a substitute. 
                                                             Page S7055
  During consideration of this measure today, the Senate took the 
following actions:
  Roth Modified motion to waive all points of order under the budget 
process, arising from the earned-income credit component. Subsequently, 
Senate failed to sustain the point of order against section 4 of the 
bill that it violates section 313 of the Congressional Budget Act. 
                                                             Page S7043
  By 48 yeas to 47 nays (Vote No. 199), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn, not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected Roth motion to waive any point of order made against 
Amendments numbered 3864 and 3865 (to Amendment No. 3863). 
                                                         Pages S7044-45
  Senate sustained a point of order against Roth Amendment No. 3864, to 
strike sunset provision, as being in violation of the Byrd Rule of the 
Budget Act, and the amendment thus fell.
Page S7045
  Senate sustained a point of order against Roth Amendment No. 3865 (to 
Amendment No. 3863), to strike sunset provision, as being in violation 
of the Byrd Rule of the Budget Act, and the amendment thus fell. 
                                                             Page S7045
  By 30 yeas to 68 nays (Vote No. 202), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to waive certain provisions of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 with respect to the consideration of Feingold 
Amendment No. 3846, to provide a nonrefundable credit against tax for 
costs of COBRA continuation insurance and allow extended COBRA coverage 
for qualified retirees. Subsequently, a point of order that the 
amendment was in violation of section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional 
Budget Act was sustained, and the amendment thus fell.
Pages S7046-47
  By 45 yeas to 53 nays (Vote No. 203), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to waive certain provisions of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 with respect to the consideration of Harkin 
Amendment No. 3847, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the 
payment of wages on the basis of sex. Subsequently, a point of order 
that the amendment was in violation of section 305(b)(2) of the 
Congressional Budget Act was sustained, and the amendment thus fell. 
                                                         Pages S7047-48
  By 51 yeas to 47 nays (Vote No. 204), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to waive certain provisions of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 with respect to the consideration of Kennedy 
Amendment No. 3848, to amend title XIX and XXI of the Social Security 
Act to permit States to expand coverage under the Medicaid program and 
SCHIP to parents of enrolled children. Subsequently, a point of order 
that the amendment was in violation of section 305(b)(2) of the 
Congressional Budget Act was sustained, and the amendment thus fell. 
                                                         Pages S7048-49
  By 49 yeas to 49 nays (Vote No. 205), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to waive certain provisions of the Congressional 
Budget

[[Page D760]]

Act of 1974 with respect to the consideration of Reid (for Durbin) 
Modified Amendment No. 3852, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
to allow small business employers a credit against income tax for 
employee health insurance expenses paid or incurred by the employer. 
Subsequently, a point of order that the amendment was in violation of 
section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act was sustained, and 
the amendment thus fell.
Pages S7049-50
  By 49 yeas to 50 nays (Vote No. 206), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate 
rejected a motion to waive certain provisions of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 with respect to the consideration of Reid (for Robb) 
Amendment No. 3853, to make the bill effective upon enactment of a 
Medicare prescription drug benefit. Subsequently, a point of order that 
the amendment was in violation of section 305(b)(2) of the 
Congressional Budget Act was sustained, and the amendment thus fell. 
                                                             Page S7050
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the bill on Tuesday, July 18, 2000, with votes to 
occur on pending amendments and final passage. Further, that the Senate 
insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House thereon, 
and the Chair be authorized to appoint the following conferees on the 
part of the Senate: Senators Roth, Lott, and Moynihan.
Page S7055
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nomination:
  Norman Y. Mineta, of California, to be Secretary of Commerce. 
                                                             Page S7082
Messages From the House:
  Page S7067
Measures Referred:
  Page S7067
Petitions:
  Pages S7067-72
Statements on Introduced Bills:
  Pages S7072-76
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S7076-78
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S7079-81
Notices of Hearings:
  Page S7081
Authority for Committees:
  Page S7081
Additional Statements:
  Pages S7066-67
Text of H.R. 4205, as Previously Passed: 
                                  Pages S6871-S6982 (Record of 7-14-00)
Record Votes: Nine record votes were taken today. (Total--206) 
                                                      Pages S7044-S7050
Adjournment: Senate convened at 12 noon, and adjourned at 9:44 p.m., 
until 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, July 18, 2000. (For Senate's program, see 
the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S7082.)