Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)

[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10972-S10984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001--CONFERENCE REPORT

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Committee of Conference on the disagreeing votes of the
two Houses on the amendment of the Senate on the bill H.R.
4811, ``Making appropriations for foreign operations, export
financing, and related programs for the fiscal year 2001, and
for other purposes,'' having met, have agreed that the House
recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate,
and agree to the same with an amendment, and the Senate agree
to the same, signed by a majority of the conferees on the
part of both Houses.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will proceed to the consideration
of the conference report.
(The report was printed in the House proceedings of the Record of
October 24, 2000.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, what is the pending business?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending business is the conference report
on the foreign operations bill.
The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Speaker, the bill before the Senate is a half
billion dollars below last year's appropriation--the fiscal year 2000
bill was $15.4 billion--this year we are presenting a $14.9 billion
bill. This includes $14.5 billion in fiscal year 2000 funds plus an
additional $466 million in supplemental funding for debt relief,
Southern Africa, and the Balkans.
Although we are below last year's level, we have managed to
substantially increase key priorities, including providing $865 million
for Ex-Im, a nearly $100 million increase over last year, $1.3 billion
for development assistance, again a $100 million increase, within child
survival we surpassed the request for AIDS funding and provided $315
million. Overall child survival funding was also increased to $963
million. In addition to over $1 billion in supplemental funds for
Colombia, the Narcotics and Law enforcement account was increased by
$20 million over the request to $325 million. For the first time in
years, we managed to increase security assistance. This account is of
real concern to our friends and allies in Central and Eastern Europe.
We exceeded the request and provided $3.545 billion. To respond to
crises from Chechnya to Sierra Leone, we substantially increased
funding both over last year's level and this year's request for
refugees to $700 million. In this account we were able to work out a
compromise that will improve management and oversight of UNHCR while
affording the administration flexibility to respond rapidly to any real
emergency.
Finally, we provided funds for the fiscal year 2001 and the
supplemental request for debt relief. In addition to language on IMF
reforms recommended by Senator Gramm, we have included a number of HIPC
conditions worked out between Senator Helms and Congressman Leach,
representing the authorizing committees. There are a number of policy
provisions which are also important to mention. Within the $675 million
account for Eastern Europe, we have provided up to $100 million for
Serbia. Senator Leahy and I agree that we will never be able to
withdraw troops and help stabilize the Balkans as long as Milosevic and
other criminals responsible for outrageous atrocities across the
Balkans are allowed to go free. No government in the region will have
confidence in Belgrade if the rule of law is not upheld.
The administration lobbied heavily against our arguments that U.S.
support for the new government should come with specific conditions
attached. We thought aid should flow only if the Serb government met
three specific conditions: First, they need to cooperate with the War
Crimes Tribunal. Second, they must take steps to end support for
organizations in the Republic of Srpska which prevent effective
integration of Bosnia Hercegovina. Finally, given Belgrade's vicious
track record, we thought it was important to seek assurances that the
new government will implement policies which respect the rights and
aspirations of minorities and the rule of law. Each of these conditions
was designed to serve our interests in stabilizing the region so that
an exit strategy for U.S. troops can be safely and effectively
executed. The bill modifies this approach and includes an agreement
which will give this administration and the new government in Belgrade
a 5-month window in which assistance can move forward. After that
period, only humanitarian aid and support to local mayors will be
allowed if Belgrade refuses to meet the conditions which I have
outlined.
I must confess my reservations about this approach. I listened to the
arguments for flexibility, but I have little confidence in the
administration's past record of support for the Tribunal and

[[Page S10973]]

standing up to Belgrade. I believe that there is no problem in Serbia
that will be made easier by Milosevic's predatory presence. No regional
government will have confidence in Belgrade as long as he is allowed to
go free. It is in their interest and ours to see him turned over for
trial. In the end I agreed to this compromise because funds for Serbia
are made available subject to the committee's notification. If there is
no sign of cooperation or progress on our conditions during the next
five months, the administration should understand that I will put a
hold on funding. This compromise is not a free pass to spend for five
months--Senator Leahy and I will be expecting concrete progress. The
second area of tremendous concern addressed in the bill is Russia's
action in Chechnya. Since launching this war, Moscow has blocked all
humanitarian relief operations or international human rights
investigations from proceeding in Chechnya. While we cannot always
change the views in Moscow, I was extremely disappointed by the
administration refusal to support the U.N. High Commissioner for Human
Rights call for an international investigation. Instead Secretary
Albright testified the administration preferred to allow Moscow to
conduct its own internal investigation. The State Department has also
rejected support for non-government groups providing relief and
preferred instead to work through the Russian government.

To address these problems, we have earmarked $10 million for the more
than 400,000 displaced families in Chechnya and Ingushetia which can
only be provided through NGOs. Aid to the Russian government is also
made contingent upon cooperation with international investigations in
Chechnya. We have also made aid to the Russian Government contingent
upon a certification that Moscow has terminated support for the nuclear
program in Iran. In the past we have withheld 50 percent of the Russian
government funds until this certification is made--this year we have
increased the withholding to 60 percent. Putin has said Russia must
build a dictatorship of law--what remains unclear is whether his
personal emphasis will be on dictatorship or law. I think our aid
should be leverage to secure a result which serves American interests
and nuclear armed Iran certainly is not in U.S. interests.
Finally, let me mention debt relief. Senator Helms and Congressman
Leach reported out bills which conditioned U.S. support to the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Initiative managed by the IMF and the World
Bank. The Foreign Relations Committee bill requires the Secretary of
Treasury to certify that it is World Bank policy to--(1) suspend
funding if loans are diverted or misused, (2) not displace private
sector funding, and (3) disburse funds based on the implementation of
reforms by the recipient country including the promotion of open
markets and liberalization of trade practices, the promotion of
projects which enhance economic growth and the establishment of
benchmarks to measure progress toward graduation from assistance.
Similar conditions are required of the IMF. In addition to including
language supported by Senator Helms and Congressman Leach, we have
included House language limiting resources to countries engaged in a
pattern of human rights abuses. I supported stronger language which
would have required that the Secretary of Treasury certify that the IMF
and Bank actually were implementing new policy conditions before
Treasury was allowed to disburse funds--this approach was recommended
by Senator Gramm, the chairman of the Banking Committee. That was my
view of how it should have been handled. Instead, my colleagues on the
conference supported Helms-Leach language which releases the funds and
then requires reporting on performance over the course of the next
year.
While I completely agreed with Senator Gramm, I also shared the
problem he has with his committee--there simply were not the votes to
sustain this position. I think we have made progress on conditioning
debt relief, but the Treasury Department should understand that I will
continue to consult with Senator Gramm when we receive notifications on
intended debt relief recipients. Performance benchmarks are essential
if we are to avoid seeing the same groups of countries and banks back
in 5 years seeking the same relief all over again. Separate from the
HIPC relief, we did include binding requirements that the Treasury
Department withhold 10 percent of our contribution to any multilateral
bank until specific conditions are met on procurement and management
reforms. Not only will the banks have to improve internal management
practices through audits, they will have to improve recipient country
procurement management and financial practices. This is an important
step in our battle against fraud and corruption. Once again, I think we
have produced a balanced bill which funds U.S. priorities within sound
budget principles and I urge its favorable consideration.
Finally, I repeat, this bill is below the amount spent for foreign
operations last year. That makes it somewhat unique among the
appropriations bills we have been in the process of passing, and I am
proud to say we were able to bring this bill in under last year's
total.
Mr. President, are we under some time agreement?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is under a 1-hour time limit.
Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum and further suggest
the time during the quorum call be equally charged to both sides.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. 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. McCONNELL. Senator Bennett is here and wishes to speak in morning
business. It seems to me he ought to speak on the bill time so we do
not have to move the vote any later in the day.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. McCONNELL. The ranking member is here. Maybe Senator Bennett can
comment after the ranking member addresses the bill.
Mr. BENNETT. Absolutely.
Mr. McCONNELL. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sessions). The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am glad we are here. I commend Senator
McConnell and also our counterparts in the House, Chairman Callahan and
Mrs. Pelosi. The chairman, Senator McConnell, and I have worked closely
together on this bill. In the same way I tried to accommodate those
concerns of his side of the aisle, he has tried to do the same on our
side. As a result, we have a good bipartisan bill.
We tried to meet everyone's concerns without putting in unnecessary
earmarks or taking away the appropriate flexibility the President
should have. We funded the President's important priorities, and I note
that both sides of the aisle supported those.
I am disappointed, of course, as I am sure the Senator from Kentucky
is, with the amount of time it took to get here. Finally, we are here.
Had it been left to the two of us, we could have finished this bill
before the August recess, but while we were told to make sure the cars
in the train would follow, we were not allowed in the engineer's seat
to get it down the track. It is here now, and it is a good result.
I am glad that we found an acceptable compromise on family planning
that does not restrict what private organizations can do with their own
private funds. That is only wise. After all, we have heard speeches
forever from people here about how the government should get off the
backs of individuals. We have finally agreed to do that. It was not
easy. I give very high praise to Congresswoman Pelosi for her work on
this.
I am also pleased that we include $425 million, the Senate funding
level for family planning. This is not money for abortions. No funds in
this bill can be used for abortions. This is money for family planning.
So many countries I have visited are among the poorest of the poor, and
they tell me that reducing the rate of population growth is one of
their highest priorities but they lack the money to do so. They also
say that when they have money for family planning, the number of
abortions in their country goes down.

[[Page S10974]]

We provide adequate authority and funding for debt forgiveness. That
had overwhelming support at the meeting the President had with
Republicans and Democrats, members of the clergy across the ideological
spectrum, representing all faiths and persuasions. I felt honored to be
in that meeting.
One of our Senate guest Chaplains that week, Father Claude Pomerleau
of the University of Portland, accompanied me there. I thank him for
his advice and help on this. I should also say that Father Pomerleau is
my wife's brother, my brother-in-law. Even the President said that it
was probably Father Pomerleau's recommendation that got me into the
White House, rather than my position that got him in.
In seriousness, on the issue of debt forgiveness, we want to help the
world's poorest countries get out of debt. We also want to be sure they
make the necessary economic reforms so they can stay out of debt in the
future. It is not enough to say, look, we are going to pay your bills
so you can get out of debt. It does nothing if then within a few years
they are back in debt.
We provided aid to Serbia, subject to important conditions relating
to Serbia's cooperation with the War Crimes Tribunal. Chairman
McConnell, myself, as well as Senator Biden and others, strongly
support these conditions.
The conditions do not take effect until March 31, 2001, and we do not
intend the aid spigot to be opened wide before then. We expect the
administration--this administration and the next one--to proceed
cautiously. We will be watching, as appropriators, just how cautious
they are. After all, administrations come and go, but the
Appropriations Committee stays here, and we will be here to watch what
is done next year.

We want to support the new Serbian Government, but only if it is
truly democratic and respects the rights of its neighbors and also the
rights of minorities. We expect the administration to treat the
apprehension and prosecution of war criminals as a priority.
I am pleased with the amount of funds for HIV/AIDS. It is a $100
million increase above last year's level. We provided up to $50 million
for child immunization, and substantial increases for programs to
combat TB, malaria, and other infectious diseases.
There are a lot of other provisions I could mention, from
restrictions on assistance for Peru--we did that because of the recent
efforts to subvert democracy there. We hear the President of Peru make
promises, but then take actions that belie what he has said. We put in
additional funding for refugees. Unfortunately, we know that the
reality throughout the world today is that there are more and more
refugees. However, I strongly object to one House provision that was
included. And I told the conferees that I objected. It is a $5.2
million earmark for AmeriCares. This is a private organization that
does work in Latin America and other places. I cannot recall a single
instance--certainly not since 1989, when I became chairman of the
Foreign Operations Subcommittee; nor in the 5 years I have been ranking
member, and the Senator from Kentucky has been chairman--when we have
earmarked funds for a private organization such as this.
It was done here, as I understand it, because a 6-year, $5.2 million
proposal of AmeriCares was rejected by AID. According to AID, the
proposal was too high-tech to be sustainable in the country in
question, and because some of the work was already being done by
others. I suspect it was a proposal which would buy a lot of expensive
equipment from some manufacturer somewhere but might not be something
appropriate for that country.
Although AID suggested to AmeriCares that they submit a revised
proposal, AmeriCares opted instead to seek a congressional earmark,
ignoring the usual practice, and basically saying: Just give us the
money. We will decide what to do with it.
I have no opinion on the merits of their proposal. But if you are
going to be applying for Federal funds, you ought to follow the same
rules everybody else does.
There are literally hundreds of PVOs that submit requests to AID, and
many are rejected--some because they do not make sense, and others
because there is not the money to fund them. Are we now going to give
those other dissatisfied PVOs their own earmarks? It is a terrible
precedent. It does not belong in this bill.
I will give you an example. I have fought to ban landmines all over
the world. We have the Leahy War Victims Fund that spends millions of
dollars every year for landmine victims. I wrote the legislation that
was the first piece of legislation ever in any country to ban the
export of landmines.
There are many NGOs and PVOs--that is, nongovernmental organizations
and private voluntary organizations--that have come in and worked to
get rid of landmines and care for landmine victims. Some are funded
through the foreign aid bill or the defense appropriations bill. Some
are funded through private donations that they raise. Many contact me
because of my identification with this and say: Could I get Federal
funding?
One of the nice things is that a lot of these--they are screened just
before the money goes out. But can you imagine how it would be if we
simply gave them the money just because it was requested by a Senator
who wants to eradicate landmines?
It has always been my view we should let the experts judge the merits
of these proposals, rather than just hand over the money to whichever
organizations have the most political clout.
Some have complained--and I heard this morning--that this is a
Republican bill. Others have said it is a Democratic bill. They are
both wrong. Neither side got everything they wanted. There were
significant compromises on funding and on policy by both sides. That is
as it should be, especially for a bill that deals with foreign policy.
And that is why I am proud to be here with the Senator from Kentucky,
because we should not have a Republican foreign policy or a Democratic
foreign policy. We should have a foreign policy that represents the
interests of the United States.
We have had somewhat of an uneven record since the time when Senator
Vandenberg spoke about ``politics ending at the water's edge.'' But on
this bill, at least, Republicans and Democrats have come together.
It is interesting, too, because the Subcommittee on Foreign
Operations of the Appropriations Committee has probably the smallest
staff of any committee around here--on the Republican side, with Robin
Cleveland, and Tim Rieser on our side, aided by just a couple of people
whom I will mention later--to put this together. We don't have huge
armies of people to help us, but maybe that is just as well because as
a result, in the end, Senators talk to Senators. That is the best way
to do things around here.
I see the Senator from Utah is on the floor.
I yield the floor and retain the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

The Rand Study

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Vermont for his
courtesy. I was more than happy to give him whatever leeway he wanted,
but I appreciate the opportunity to make a comment. Given the nature of
the session in which we find ourselves, we have to take every
opportunity as it comes along. As the chairman of the subcommittee, the
Senator from Kentucky, indicated, the time will be taken off the bill.
I rise to take the opportunity to respond to the comments that were
made earlier by the Senator from Massachusetts in his scathing attack
on the education system in Texas. The Senator from Massachusetts, as
well as Senator Harkin yesterday, referred to a Rand Corporation study
on the State of Texas schools. They would have us believe that based on
that study, the Texas schools are terrible and, further, that those of
us who are saying nice things about Texas schools are deliberately
misleading the public.
I want to make it clear that the people who are missing this story
are the people who sit in the gallery above the Chair. The press has
missed the story here because they have bought the line laid down by
the Senator from Massachusetts and others in his party that somehow the
Rand Corporation has denounced Texas schools as being terribly
inferior. The Rand Corporation has done no such thing. Democrats

[[Page S10975]]

have used the recent Rand study to try to tell everybody that the Rand
Corporation has done that. If I may, too many journalists have taken
the press release as it has come out of the Democratic headquarters and
not read the record for themselves.
I took a class in journalism. The first thing they said was, check
the facts yourself. I didn't follow that career, but I have tried to
remember that advice. So I have checked the facts myself. The place I
went to begin with, with the help of my staff, was the Rand
Corporation. Let us go back to the Rand Corporation and see what they
have to say about Texas schools. I will leave aside the argument as to
whether or not they are right. There is always the possibility that
even these so-called experts could be wrong in their analysis. Let us
set that aside for just a minute and ask ourselves, what does the Rand
Corporation have to say about Texas schools?

This is what the Rand Corporation has to say about Texas schools. I
am reading from a news release issued by the Rand Corporation itself. I
ask unanimous consent that this be printed in the Record at the
conclusion of my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See Exhibit 1.)
Mr. BENNETT. The Rand Corporation says:

The education reforms of the 1980s and 1990s seem to be
working, according to a new RAND report, but some states are
doing far better than others in making achievement gains and
in elevating their students' performance compared with
students of similar racial and socioeconomic background in
other states. Texas and Indiana are high performers on both
these counts.

I will repeat that last sentence:

Texas and Indiana are high performers on both these counts.

This is not a Republican speaking. This is not the Bush campaign
speaking. This is the Rand Corporation speaking. Texas, a high
performer.
It goes on:

Math scores are rising across the country at a national
average rate of about one percentile point per year, a pace
outstripping that of the previous two decades and suggesting
that public education reforms are taking hold. Progress is
far from uniform, however. One group of states--led by North
Carolina and Texas and including Michigan, Indiana and
Maryland--boasts gains about twice as great as the national
average.

This is the Rand Corporation, Mr. President, saying Texas is boasting
rates of improvement twice the national average.
Back to the report:

Even more dramatic contrasts emerge in the study's
pathbreaking, cross-state comparison of achievement by
students from similar families. Texas heads the class in this
ranking with California dead last.

Interesting. They go on to say:

Although the two states are close demographic cousins,
Texas students, on average, scored 11 percentile points
higher on NAEP math and reading tests than their California
counterparts. In fact, Texans performed well with respect to
most states. On the 4th-grade NAEP math tests in 1996, Texas
non-Hispanic white students and black students ranked first
compared to their counterparts in other states, while
Hispanic students ranked fifth. On the same test, California
non-Hispanic white students ranked third from the bottom,
black students last, and Hispanic students fourth from the
bottom among states.

How can this be, for the Rand Corporation to be saying such wonderful
things about Texas and then having Democratic Senators come to the
floor and quote the Rand Corporation as saying terrible things about
Texas? If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would think the release of
the latest Rand study might have something to do with the fact that
there is an election in less than a week. But the president of the Rand
Corporation has insisted that is not the case. He has insisted that the
timing of the release of this second study, which is being used to
trash Texas, was entirely coincidental and had nothing whatever to do
with the election.

All right. Let's take him at his word and read his words to see how
he reconciles the earlier Rand statement with the later one. I didn't
tell you, but that first study I quoted from was released in July,
before either of the conventions took place, before the question of
Texas performance in education became a national priority or a national
issue.
How does the president of Rand reconcile these two apparently
irreconcilable positions, one where Rand says, in July, Texas is No. 1,
Texas comes in first with California last, and the two States are
demographically very similar--how do they reconcile that statement with
the statements we are hearing on the floor today?
Read what he has to say, I say again to my journalist friends, who
take the press release from the Democratic headquarters, put it in the
headlines--top story in today's television--that the Rand Corporation
has trashed the Texas record. I don't think any of them read what the
president of Rand had to say because if they had, the story would have
been different on this morning's news.
This is what he has to say:

The July study ``Improving Student Achievement'' touched on
the Texas schools and received widespread press play. Both
efforts--

Talking about the July study and this last one--

draw on NAEP scores. The new paper suggests a less positive
picture of Texas education than the earlier effort, but I do
not believe these efforts are in sharp conflict. Together, in
fact, they provide a more comprehensive picture of key
education issues.

So Rand is not backing away from their earlier statement that Texas
is No. 1 in the areas that they quoted and covered in their first
statement. They are not repudiating that.
They are not contradicting it. They are not backing away from it.
Again, the president of Rand says:

I do not believe that these efforts are in sharp conflict.

It is the politicians who have put them in sharp conflict, not the
researchers. Let's examine the research and see what it says. Quoting
again from the president of Rand:

The July report differed in scope.

Then in parentheses he says:

(It covered almost all States, not just Texas.)

Therein lies the answer to this dilemma. The July report that says
Texas ranks No. 1 was a comparative study of Texas against other
States. In that study, they said: In these areas we are checking, Texas
is the best. The Rand Corporation said ``Texas is the best.''
Now, they came back to Texas to do a different study on an entirely
different issue, and the issue they studied the second time was whether
or not the Texas test system was a good one. They came to their own
conclusion that the Texas system of testing needs to be improved. Their
judgment, their opinion. Never at any time did they say that Texas was
not getting better results than any other States, even with a system
they claim needs to be improved.
I see the chairman of the subcommittee has returned. I will be happy
to yield the floor now and get back to the foreign operations bill,
which is before us. I could not pass the opportunity to straighten out
the Record.
The Senator from Massachusetts and the Senator from Iowa have misled
us because they have not read the fine print of the report they are
quoting from, and they have not consulted the opinion of the president
of the organization they are citing. At no time, in no place, in spite
of what the political headline said, has the Rand Corporation backed
away from its conviction that Texas is first in many, if not all, of
the categories they examined on education. The Governor of Texas and
the two Senators from Texas who spoke earlier are rightly entitled to
be very proud of the progress that has taken place in education in
their State.

Exhibit 1

Rising Math Scores Suggest Education Reforms Are Working

state achievement differences tied to spending, policies texas first,
california last in test scores of similar students

Washington, D.C., July 25--The education reforms of the
1980s and 1990s seem to be working, according to a new RAND
report, but some states are doing far better than others in
making achievement gains and in elevating their students'
performance compared with students of similar racial and
socioeconomic background in other states. Texas and Indiana
are high performers on both these counts.
The study is based on an analysis of National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) tests given between 1990 and
1996. The authors rank the 44 participating states by raw
achievement scores, by scores that compare students from
similar families, and

[[Page S10976]]

by score improvements. They also analyze which policies and
programs account for the substantial differences in
achievement across states that can't be explained by
demographics. Here are the key findings:
Math scores are rising across the country at a national
average rate of about one percentile point per year, a pace
outstripping that of the previous two decades and suggesting
that public education reforms are taking hold. Progress is
far from uniform, however. One group of states--led by North
Carolina and Texas and including Michigan, Indiana and
Maryland--boasts gains about twice as great as the national
average. Another group--including Wyoming, Georgia, Delaware,
and Utah--shows minuscule gains or none at all. Most states
fall in between.
Even more dramatic contrasts emerge in the study's
pathbreaking, cross-state comparison of achievement by
students from similar families. Texas heads the class in this
ranking with California dead last. Wisconsin, Montana, Iowa,
Maine, North Dakota, Indiana and New Jersey cluster closely
behind Texas. Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia,
Alabama and Rhode Island perform almost as dismally as
California.
Although the two states are close demographic cousins,
Texas students, on average, scored 11 percentile points
higher on NAEP math and reading tests that their California
counterparts. In fact, the Texans performed well with respect
to most states. On the 4th-grade NAEP math tests in 1996,
Texas non-Hispanic white students and black students ranked
first compared to their counterparts in other states, while
Hispanic students ranked fifth. On the same test, California
non-Hispanic white students ranked third from the bottom,
black students last, and Hispanic students fourth from the
bottom among states.
Differences in state scores for students with similar
families can be explained, in part, by per pupil expenditures
and how these funds are allocated. States at the top of the
heap generally have lower pupil-teacher ratios in lower
grades, higher participation in public prekindergarten
programs and a higher percentage of teachers who are
satisfied with the resources they are provided for teaching.
These three factors account for about two-thirds of the
Texas-California differential. Teacher turnover also has a
statistically significant effect on achievement. (California
is now implementing class-size reduction and other reforms
but these steps began after the 1996 NAEP tests.)
Having a higher percentage of teachers with masters degrees
and extensive teaching experience appears to have
comparatively little effect on student achievement across
states. Higher salaries also showed little effect, possibly
reflecting the inefficiency of the current compensation
system in which pay raises reward both high- and low-quality
teachers. However, the report points out that salary
differences may have more important achievements effects
within states than between states. Also, they may have
greater impact during periods when teachers are in shorter
supply than during the 1990-1996 measurement period.
To raise achievement scores, the most efficient and
effective use of education dollars is to target states with
higher proportions of minority and disadvantaged students
with funding for lower pupil-teacher ratios, more widespread
prekindergarten efforts, and more adequate teaching
resources. As for teacher salaries and education, the report
adds, ``efforts to increase the quality of teachers in the
long run are important, but . . . significant productivity
gains can be obtained with the current teaching force if
their working conditions are improved.''
The most plausible explanation for the remarkable rate of
math gains by North Carolina and Texas is the integrated sets
of policies involving standards, assessment and
accountability that both states implemented in the late 1980s
and early 1990s.
The RAND study, led by David Grissmer, is based on NAEP
tests given in 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1996 to representative
samples of 2,500 students from the 44 voluntarily
participating states. Five tests were given in mathematics
and two in reading at either the 4th- or 8th-grade level. Not
all of the states took all of the tests. And there were too
few reading tests to permit a separate analysis of those
results. Taken together, however, the tests provided the
first set of data permitting statistically valid achievement
comparisons across states. The researchers used data from the
census and from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey
to establish the student samples' family characteristics.
The 1998 NAEP reading and math scores became available too
late to be incorporated in this analysis. ``We're examining
those data now, however, and we find that the state rankings
change little and our findings about which policies make the
most difference aren't affected at all,'' Grissmer declares.
``Our results certainly challenge the traditional view of
public education as `unreformable','' he concludes. ``But the
achievement of disadvantaged students is still substantially
affected by inadequate resources. Stronger federal
compensatory programs are required to address this
inequity.''
Grissmer's coauthors include Ann Flanagan, Jennifer Kawata
and Stephanie Williamson. Improving Student Achievement: What
NAEP Test Scores Tell Us was supported by the ExxonMobil
Foundation, the Danforth Foundation, the NAEP Secondary
Analysis Program, the Center for Research on Education
Diversity and Excellence and by RAND.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky is recognized.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I think the Senator from Utah has made
an extraordinarily good point. If he would like to speak further, I can
wait. I am going to propose a unanimous consent request.
Mr. BENNETT. I have probably exhausted my indignation on that
subject, I say to the Senator from Kentucky. I will be available again
if someone comes along to try to misinterpret and misquote these
studies.
Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my friend for his very important contribution
to what has become an issue across America.
Mr. President, with relation to the foreign operations bill, I ask
unanimous consent that the vote regarding the foreign operations
conference report occur beginning at 4:30 p.m., and that there be 4
minutes for debate immediately following the vote for closing remarks
with respect to the pending Feingold amendment and S. 2508, and that
that vote immediately occur.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I was told this had been cleared on
both sides. We will propound the unanimous consent request later when
it is cleared.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I had to leave the floor for a moment. Am I
correct that the continuing resolution will not be here for a 4:30
vote?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
Mr. LEAHY. I ask the distinguished Senator from Kentucky, would it be
his intention, once all time is finished or yielded back, to go to a
rollcall vote on this bill?
Mr. McCONNELL. I am told that is fine with our side. We will be happy
to finish up the debate and vote.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on final
passage of the conference report.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana is recognized.
Ms. LANDRIEU. I know we are discussing the underlying bill. I ask
unanimous consent to be yielded 7 minutes.
Mr. REID. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President: It is my
understanding that we have a vote scheduled at 4:30.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is not correct; that has been changed.
Mr. REID. I don't understand how we are not having a vote at 4:30.
How could it have been changed?
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I propounded a unanimous consent
agreement to which the Senator from Florida objected and that is how we
found ourselves where we are.
Mr. REID. So what I stated earlier on the floor--that we had a vote
at 4:30--was really not accurate, is that true?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The vote was to occur at that time, but the
measure on which the vote was to occur has not yet arrived from the
House.
Who yields time?
Ms. LANDRIEU. I have requested time. I understand under a previous
unanimous consent request, Senator Graham of Florida was granted 30
minutes. He is yielding me a part of his time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Florida yield the time
to the Senator from Louisiana?
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from
Louisiana.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I know we have been discussing a variety
of subjects in the last few hours. The matter before the Senate is the
Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
One of the difficulties all Members are having, is trying to get some
accurate information about what is actually in these bills, as they
come to us rather quickly. That is one of the things we have been
talking about today. I think Senator Leahy raised an excellent point.
There are provisions in

[[Page S10977]]

foreign ops about which I also have some serious concerns. But right
now, I just wanted to take a few minutes to discuss the Adoption Tax
Credit.

Adoption Tax Credit

Mr. President, the adoption tax credit is broadly supported in this
Chamber by Democrats and Republicans. It is one of the issues we seem
to be able to come together on to say, yes, we believe in adoption.
Adoption affirms life. It affirms families. It helps us to build
families in very special ways. It provides an opportunity for children
who don't have parents, and for parents who desperately want children,
to get together.
Over the last couple of years, together, Democrats and Republicans,
the White House, President Clinton and the First Lady, have been
aggressive advocates of adoption. We have made great progress.
Just last week, under the tremendous leadership of Chairman Helms, we
passed the first ever International Treaty on Adoption. This treaty is
going to reduce corruption, minimize the costs of international
adoptions, and expedite this process so the children all around the
world can find homes. We believe there are no unwanted children, just
unfound families. We passed historic legislation a few years ago to
help break down racial barriers to allow people of all different races
to adopt children in need, in order to build families. We all know that
love knows no color lines.
We are doing a wonderful job. I am on the floor today to encourage my
colleagues to just try to do a little bit better. I am concerned that
we are not going to expand this adoption tax credit and increase it in
ways that are meaningful, in ways that will make a difference.
Just two months ago, many members of this body gathered in
Philadelphia and vowed that under their leadership, no child would be
left behind. This is a laudable goal, and one I think that every member
of this body embraced. Here is our opportunity to prove it.
Let me briefly explain what I mean. Right now, as many people know--
particularly those who have adopted children, or who have been touched
in a positive way in their life through adoption, either as an adoptee,
as a birth mother who is happy with the choice she made, or an adoptive
couple--there is in place a $5,000 tax credit for adoption. We adopted
this tax credit in 1996, in an effort to provide assistance to families
wishing to adopt. It allows parents who adopt a child to receive a
maximum of $5,000 in credit on their taxes. If that child is what we
call a special needs child, the amount of the credit is raised by
$1,000. In addition, reimbursements for adoption expenses from a
private employer are also excluded from an adoptive parent's gross
annual income.
The National Adoption Clearinghouse estimates that a private adoption
costs anywhere from $4,000 to $30,000. International adoptions are
reported at between $10,000 and $30,000. About six months ago, I was at
a citizenship ceremony for newly adopted children. One mother came up
to me and told me that, without the tax credit, she could not have even
thought about adopting a second child.

So this is an important tax credit. It helps waiting children find
homes. It helps working couples who want to be parents experience the
sheer joy parenting brings. But it is not working for everyone.
Unfortunately, the way the credit is currently structured, it is not
helping all adoptive families, just some. Let me show you why.
As you can see, I have pictures of three children here, all of whom
were adopted. The first Elena, a child from Guatemala, who was adopted
when she was one year old. She has no known health conditions. This
second child is Jack, a little boy from the United States, who was
given up for adoption when he was born. Jack was immediately placed
through a private adoption agency. Jack also has no known health
conditions.
And this is Serina, a little girl, also from the United States who
was also recently adopted. Serina was taken into foster care
immediately upon her birth. She was born with prenatal cocaine
addiction. She is small, in a wheelchair, and has difficulty seeing and
hearing. She suffers from Cerebral Palsy, as well as multiple other
problems.
As I mentioned, these two children, Elena and Jack, are relatively
healthy. The third child, Serina, has multiple challenges. Under our
current system, one would think all of these children and their
families would deserve some help with adoption. But right now under our
system, Elena and Jack have received help. Elena's parents received
$9,786, while Jack's family claimed $5,890. Serina's parents, on the
other hand, received nothing.
Under the current tax code, only expenses which are incurred in the
act of adoption are eligible. Although adopting Serina meant that her
adoptive parents had to renovate their car and make their home
wheelchair accessible, such costs are not ``qualified adoption
expenses.''
As I mentioned, the difficulty lies in the tax code. One can be
reimbursed for expenses related to the adoption. But, as is widely
known in the adoption community, when you adopt a special needs child,
perhaps one who is not physically handicapped, or one who has emotional
or mental difficulties or has been in foster care, there are little or
no expenses related to the active adoption.
Serina is a special needs child, just like the 100,000 special needs
children who are freed for adoption in the United States and yet are
still waiting for a home. These are all children like Serina, waiting
for a family to love and care for them. We want that adoption tax
credit to work for these children, as well. The Department of Treasury
estimates that, not including step parents, there were 77,000 adoptions
in 1998, 31,000 of which were special needs. That is almost half.
Therefore, under our current system, the very children and families
we are trying to help, encourage, and reward for opening up their homes
and hearts to these children are actually being left out.
Here is a report to Congress from our own Department of Treasury, a
report we received just in the last week. I brought this to the
attention of our ranking member on the Finance Committee, Senator
Moynihan. This has also been transmitted to Chairman Roth from
Delaware, to help my colleagues understand that, according to this
report, special needs children are being left out. I know that in the
final days of the session, negotiators have been trying to reach a
final agreement on a tax package. However, I am told that, while this
package does include a provision to extend the non-special needs tax
credit for two additional years, it does not include any relief for
special needs children.

I know some people might say: Senator Landrieu is not right. She
couldn't possibly be right. This can not be happening. We are not
giving a tax credit for healthy kids and no tax credit for special
needs kids.
That wasn't our intention. At least I believe it wasn't our
intention.
Let me conclude by saying, when people stand up on this floor, or in
Philadelphia, or in California, giving speeches all over America, and
say they don't want to leave children behind, that ``no child will be
left behind'', we are about to leave 100,000 children behind, because
we will not take the time and the energy to fix this adoption tax
credit. Children such as Serina, children in my State and a number of
others, all of these beautiful children from different States--these
are the kids who are about to be left behind.
If I have to come to this floor every day until we are finished--and
Lord only knows how long we will be here--I will continue to do so, to
speak for the children who are being left behind. We can fix the tax
credit; it costs very little to fix it. If we are truly a body which
vows to leave no child behind, then we must do something to help both
special needs and non special needs children.
Mr. President, I will come to the floor every day if necessary to
ensure that these children are not left behind.
I thank the Chair. I yield back my remaining time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, how much time remains under my 30 minutes?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Twenty-one minutes 10 seconds.

Fiscal Policy

Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as is necessary.

[[Page S10978]]

For the last several weeks, I have been raising concerns about the
direction of our fiscal policy. Today, we reach a historic moment. Many
were here in the 1980's and 1990's when the Federal Government, through
annual deficits, acquired a record national debt of almost $5.5
trillion. In 1992, we reached the peak of this when we had a 1-year
deficit of in excess of $290 billion.
In the 1990s, we took a number of steps to try to rectify this
situation and to mitigate this constant increase in the national debt.
A key part of that process occurred in 1997. In 1997, we set spending
limits for ourselves, including spending limits on the discretionary
accounts of the Federal Government such as the account that we are
dealing with today. We promised ourselves and the public that for every
tax dollar cut there would be $1 less spent, and vice versa. That is
the way in which a family would approach having to restrain its budget
in order to come into line with its income. It would buy the holiday
gifts that it could afford but not necessarily the ones that everyone
in the family wants because for those family budgets there are some
very real caps.
But, for Congress, the commitment to realistic budget and fiscal
responsibility was a novel, even a radical idea. We had not even
thought about it that much in the preceding 20 or 30 years. Apparently,
it was so radical that it was too much to ask. It is almost as if this
Halloween season we have all turned into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On
the campaign trail we put on one costume; that is, the costume of our
better selves where we boast about the courage and foresight it took to
balance the budget. We talk about all the good things we are going to
do, whether it is saving Social Security, providing a prescription drug
benefit for Medicare, cutting taxes, or adding spending in other
favorable programs. Then we return to Congress and we take off our
mask. We begin grabbing for what we can get, a few billion here, a few
billion there, regardless of the long-term consequences.
We have doled out treats to line our political pockets while we are
playing a trick on the American public. That trick is that we are
sleepwalking through the surplus. We are about to deny ourselves and
future generations one of the greatest opportunities that we have had
in American political and economic history: to use this enormous period
of prosperity to deal with some of those long-term issues that will
affect, not just ourselves, but future generations.
But as we vote to set the deficit monster free, we make the promise
that this is only for this year. We are not really going to let him out
of the cage; we are just going to open the door a bit and let him sniff
some of the desirable consequences of profligate spending. This year we
tell the American public this is our chance to celebrate this American
prosperity. Next year we will cut the monster down to size, put him
back in his cage, and no long-term harm will have been done. But the
truth is for our children and our grandchildren this could be a very
scary Halloween.
My friends, are we really so humble as to believe that what we do
today will not resonate through future years? I personally find it hard
to believe that this will be just a 1-year exception to a constancy of
fiscal discipline.
In 1997, we planned for the future because we knew that what we did
with the taxpayers' dollars would have real consequences. They are
having real consequences.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the Washington Post article
aptly entitled ``Binges Becoming Regular Budget Fare'' be printed in
the Record immediately after my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See Exhibit 1.)
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, this story chronicles the crumbling of our
wall of fiscal resolve in the face of a behemoth of appropriations
bills. The bill we have before us, the foreign operations bill, carries
a $14.9 billion price tag.
It has been stated that this bill is actually lower than the bill
that we passed last year. If I am in error--and it is very difficult to
respond since we have only in the last few hours gotten a copy of a
multipage bill, but as I read through the bill, it is my analysis that
in calculating last year's $15.5 billion expenditure, we have included
an almost $2 billion item, the Wye Plantation commitments for the
Middle Eastern peace, which are nonrecurring. So if you are comparing
apples to apples, those things that we spent money on last year and
those things we are going to spend money on this year, actually last
year's comparable appropriation for foreign operations was closer to
$13.5 billion. So instead of the $14.9 billion being a reduction, it
actually represents approximately a 10-percent increase over the
spending that we had on this same account last year, a 10-percent
increase, while we are operating under the rule that we are only
supposed to spend the rate of inflation, which is 3.5 percent, as an
increase from 1 year's budget to the next.
But that is not what is the true monster in this bill. The true
monster in this bill is stuck into the appropriations language, which
for us on the floor is printed in the Congressional Record, since we do
not have a copy of the actual bill and conference report. It is
specifically stuck on page H10776, nestled in between a provision that
relates to gifts to the United States for reduction of the public
debt--and I am glad to know that we get some gifts to reduce the public
debt--and a provision that provides debt relief for heavily indebted
poor countries. It may be appropriate that this language I am about to
quote is inserted in between those two provisions.
In section 701(a), this language appears:

Section 251 (c)(5) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 . . . is amended by striking
subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
``(A) for discretionary category: $637,000,000,000 in new
budget authority and $612,695,000,000 in outlays;''.

That might seem fairly unexciting, but let me tell you what we are
preparing to do. In that Balanced Budget Act of 1997, we provided a
spending limit for discretionary accounts for each of the future years.
For the fiscal year 2001, the year for which we are now appropriating,
the spending limit was established at $542 billion. The legislation we
are about to vote upon will increase that figure from $542 billion to
$637 billion, a 17.5-percent increase in the allowable expenditure in
this 1 year alone. That is the scale of the monster that we are about
to let out of the cage by adopting this legislation.
This figure will put far more than a dent in the surplus that we
promised. It will put a massive hole in our budget projections. The
fact is, by the time we are done, Social Security is more likely to be
floundering midstream without a life vest than to be in a secure
lockbox on dry land. Instead of fiscal responsibility, we are now
practicing fiscal myopia. We are honing in on the magic number, a $4.6
trillion surplus over the next 10 years. However, what we are
forgetting to completely level with the American people about is that
that $4.6 trillion is predicated on the assumption we are only going to
spend $542 billion this year. We are about to authorize a number that
is almost $100 billion larger.
The forecasters of the Congressional Budget Office do not have a
crystal ball. They can only see the future the way we look at it and
the degree of confidence they place in our actions. The CBO numbers,
upon which the $4.6 trillion surplus is predicated, are based on those
commitments made in 1997.
This appropriations bill demonstrates that we are not committed to
those commitments of 1997. The surplus projections assume that
discretionary spending increases each year would be restrained to the
rate of inflation. We are about to completely abandon that facade.
What are we about to do as we go into this new reckless era? The best
case scenario--and we can assume under that that we will, indeed, be
able to increase discretionary spending for the future only by the rate
of inflation, that this is just a 1-year aberration through which we
are living; that Halloween is going to be repealed for future years--if
we have that best case scenario, we can anticipate that our surplus
will sink by about $100 billion over the next 10 years--$100 billion
less than the projections.
I do not think that is a credible scenario. I do not believe there is
any reason to believe that what we are doing today is exceptional.
Rather, what we

[[Page S10979]]

are doing today is going to be precedential for the future. And assume
that it is precedential. The discretionary spending each year increases
by the same rate that we are increasing it this year; that is,
approximately 9 percent, or 5.5 percent more than the rate of
inflation.
If we act in each of the next 10 years with the same abandon that we
do this year, we will spend the entire 10-year projected surplus on
this increased spending. There will be no money to strengthen Social
Security. There will be no money to finance a tax cut. There will be no
money to provide for prescription drugs through Medicare. In fact,
spending at this rate will not only eliminate all of those potentials,
but Congress will be forced to dip into the Social Security surplus,
that thing which it has committed it would never ever do, by $400
billion over 10 years.
So we are making some very serious decisions as we pass this
appropriations bill with its enormous increase in the limitation on
discretionary spending.
Save Social Security, indeed. Could it be that when we talked about
saving Social Security, we really meant preserving it as a museum piece
so we could talk to our grandchildren about what it used to be like? We
will tell them that back when we were young, the Government actually
sent you money when you grew older and deserved a rest. But if
discretionary spending will dent the surplus, the direction we are
taking on mandatory spending will virtually hollow it out.
Our lack of fiscal discipline is not only to be found in the
appropriations bill but also in the creation of new entitlements. We
have already passed the Defense Department authorization bill that
changes the health benefits as a new entitlement and will reduce the
surplus by $60 billion over the next 10 years.
We are poised to approve give-backs to Medicare providers that will
cost another estimated $75 to $80 billion of our surplus over the next
10 years.
Another $260 billion disappears if we pass a tax bill, which it is
rumored that it is about to be presented to us by our colleagues from
across the hall in the House of Representatives.
So when you add up all of this laundry list, you will find that we
have reduced our surplus to another return to deficits.
It is very easy to add up these numbers and simply say it is too
much, but I am well aware that much of the spending is for worthy
causes, many of which I myself support. But what these individual
pieces of legislation do not add up to is a solid plan for the future.
What they do not add up to is the requirement that we make choices,
that we set priorities, that we decide which of all of these good
things is most important, and that we have the discipline to stick to
those priorities.

I ask again, whatever happened to ``Save Social Security first''?
Can we really say we have done anything to shore up the Medicare
system which is desperately in need of an infusion if it is to remain
viable for today's seniors, their children, and grandchildren?
Are we ever going to be able to pay down the debt?
Our colleagues in the House have suggested that 90 percent of the
surplus for this year go to debt reduction. That proposal was for this
year only, for fiscal year 2001, however, because they cannot do it
over the next 10 years. Ten percent of the surplus would be $456
billion. Congress may very well enact legislation in the next few years
that will exceed that amount by in excess of $100 billion.
We have already committed ourselves to more spending than the House
of Representatives pledge would require using 90 percent of the surplus
to pay down the national debt.
Mr. President, $100 billion is more money than most Americans can
ever conceive of.
In a few short months, history will move forward again and we will
gather together in the Chamber of the House of Representatives to greet
a newly elected President to hear his first State of the Union Address.
By almost any measure, the state of our Union is strong. Our economy
is the envy of the world. Incomes are up. Unemployment is down. Home
ownership is up. Inflation is low. Mortgage rates remain modest.
As we await a new President, and the first State of the Union Address
from that new President--the first new President elected in the 21st
century--I am reminded of the historic State of the Union speech
delivered by President Clinton at the beginning of 1998.
To provide context from that time, we, as a nation, were on the verge
of shifting from annual deficits to a hope for a promised projected
surplus. We were looking at a prospect we had not faced in years: What
do we do with a possible surplus?
In his 1998 State of the Union Address, President Clinton answered
that question. If I could quote from his eloquent words of that
evening:

For three decades, six Presidents have come before you to
warn of the damage deficits pose to our nation. Tonight, I
come before you to announce that the federal deficit--once so
incomprehensibly large that it had eleven zeros--will be,
simply, zero.
If we balance the budget for the next year, it is projected
that we'll then have a sizable surplus in the years that
immediately follow. What should we do with this projected
surplus?
I have a simple, four-word answer: Save Social Security
first.

Mr. President, that simple four-word answer, ``Save Social Security
first,'' brought all of us to our feet in January of 1998. And, Mr.
President at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, your greatest legacy will be the
restoration of fiscal discipline here in Washington.
Mr. President, you are being challenged as to the fidelity and
sustainability of that commitment to fiscal discipline. We should now
resist the temptation to allow the deficit monster to escape from the
cage again.
We should give to President Clinton the rightful recognition for
reversing decades of rampant borrowing and, as a result of that
courage, producing sustained national prosperity and the potential for
even more prosperity.
But, Mr. President, at the end of your administration, we need you to
remain true to the principles that have produced this legacy. If we in
the Congress are unable to exercise fiscal discipline, we will have to
turn to you to provide us with the necessary restraints.
We are talking here about our children and our grandchildren. Are we
again going to return to the days when we expect them to pay our bills
or are we going to accept the responsibility that virtually every
generation of Americans--but for those who have lived in the last 30
years--were prepared to accept? And that is that we would--each
generation, each year--pay our bills and not ask future generations to
do so. That is the fundamental issue we face with this appropriations
bill. Because I believe it fails to meet that test, I will vote no.
Thank you, Mr. President.

Exhibit 1

[From the Washington Post, Oct. 25, 2000]

Binges Becoming Regular Budget Fare

(By Eric Pianin)

Rules created more than two decades ago to impose fiscal
restraint on Congress have broken down, helping fuel a year-
end spending spree that is resulting in billions of extra
dollars for highways and bridges, water projects, emergency
farm aid, school construction and scores of other projects.
Many budget hawks have derided the binge as a typical
election year ``porkfest.'' But key lawmakers and experts on
federal budgeting say another less visible problem is that
the law aimed at reining in such spending has been
effectively gutted by the congressional leadership.
In particular, lawmakers are increasingly ignoring the
annual congressional budge resolution, the document that is
supposed to guide spending and tax decisions in the House and
Senate every year. In years past, lawmakers might miss their
budget targets by a few billion dollars, but now they are
busting the budget by as much as $50 billion a year.
This year's budget resolution, for instance, called for
about $600 billion in spending this fiscal year on defense,
health, education and other non-entitlement programs. When
Congress and the White House finally complete their
negotiations, probably this week, the total will be $640
billion or more.
One reason, lawmakers say, is that the GOP congressional
leadership has adopted--largely for political reasons--
unrealistic budgets that understate the amount of spending
members want. Another is that the emergence of big surpluses
has made Congress much less vigilant bout living within its
means--and more prone to make up the rules as it goes along.
``I think the budget process has been destroyed and I
think, unfortunately, Republicans have been heavily numbered
among the assassins,'' said Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), a
veteran of budget skirmishes. ``I think we've made a mockery
of the process and it will be very difficult to revive it.''

[[Page S10980]]

Stanley Collender, a prominent expert on federal spending,
added: ``What we're seeing is budget decision-making by the
seat of their pants.''
Collender and other experts say the increased spending
being approved by Congress could begin to cut into projected
surpluses, leaving less for the spending and tax cut
initiatives proposed by Vice President Gore and Texas Gov.
George W. Bush. Outside of the Social Security program,
analysts have projected the federal government will run a
$2.2 trillion surplus over the next decade. But the Concord
Coalition, a bipartisan budget watchdog group, estimates that
the forecast surpluses are likely to shrink by two-thirds, to
about $172 billion, if congressional spending patterns
persist.
Congress is on track to boost non-defense discretionary
spending by 5.2 percent above the rate of inflation during
fiscal 2001--the sharpest spending increase of its type in 25
years--according to a new analysis by Democrats on the House
Budget Committee.
The decision to ignore the budget resolution is only one
sign of a general brreakdown of fiscal discipline on Capitol
Hill, according to fiscal experts. Congress and the Clinton
administration are also ignoring spending caps both agreed to
as part of the 1997 legislation to balance the federal
budget.
Congress's enthusiasm for real budget constraints began to
wane almost as soon as deficits gave way to surpluses
beginning three years ago. Until then, the specter of
towering annual deficits of as much as $290 billion had
fostered a series of hardnosed policies, including a 1990
budget deal that for the first time imposed caps on spending
and required Congress to offset tax cuts by reducing spending
or raising other revenue.
The emergence of surpluses has left it to lawmakers to
produce budget plans that would impose spending discipline
with an eye to the time when Medicare and Social Security
will begin to run short of money. But that has not happened.
In the politically charged environment of Capitol Hill, the
House and Senate budget committees in recent years produced
plans that budget experts say were more GOP political
manifestors than practical blueprints. The problem came to a
head in 1998, when House Budget Committee Chairman John R.
Kasich (Ohio), then a Republican presidential aspirant,
produced a House budget resolution so top-heavy with tax cuts
and tough on domestic spending that he could not sell it to
Senate Republicans or the White House.
For the first time in nearly 25 years, Congress completed
that year without a budget. The following year Republicans
managed to agree among themselves on a budget, but the
document was largely ignored by GOP leaders when they
negotiated a final spending agreement with the White House.
This year's plan was somewhat more pragmatic, but even so
it called for $150 billion of tax cuts--about twice what
Congress will finally settle for--and spending cuts in many
areas that GOP members of the appropriations committees
refused to accept.
Some of the additional funding this year will go for
emergencies, such as restoration of western forest lands hit
by fires last summer and security problems at the national
nuclear laboratory at Los Alamos, NM. But much of the
additional money will go to satisfy the election year demands
of Clinton and special projects sought by GOP and Democratic
lawmakers--ranging from $2 billion for extra highway and
bridge projects to $5 million for an insect-rearing facility
in Stoneville, Miss.
``The budget process can only do what the political will
can support,'' said G. William Hoagland, the Republican staff
director of the Senate Budget Committee. ``I would argue
that, if anything, what this year shows is that you need a
[tough] budget process even more in times of surpluses than
in times of deficits.''
Another phenomenon in recent years has been a growing
propensity on the part of congressional leaders to overrule
key committees--even in promoting big policy changes. Last
year, for example, Republican leaders waited until late in
the year to unveil details of a plan to wall off the Social
Security surplus from the rest of the budget. They returned
from this year's August recess with a new idea for using
nine-tenths of next year's surplus for debt reduction.
While both proposals, arguably, will help to impose some
limitations on spending, they were presented without any
meaningful debate or review by the committees with
jurisdiction. House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.)
defended the practice, noting that ``the leadership can't
have any idea that holds water unless the [GOP] conference
holds it with them.''

BUSTING THE BUDGET
[Dollars in billions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Actual Excess
Fiscal year resolution spending spending
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997.................................. $528 $538 $10
1998.................................. 531 533 2
1999.................................. 533 583 50
2000.................................. 540 587 47
2001.................................. 600 \1\ 640 40
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Estimate.

Source: Senate Budget Committee.

THE CUBAN TRANSITION PROJECT

Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I would like to engage Senator McConnell,
Chairman of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee in a
colloquy regarding an important project addressed in both the Senate
and House Committee Reports. This project is the Cuban Transition
Project located in Miami, FL.
Mr. McCONNELL. I would be pleased to engage in such a colloquy.
Mr. MACK. Mr. President, my purpose for entering into this colloquy
is to seek clarification from the Chairman regarding the Conferees'
intent to support the Cuban Transition Project. The House Committee
Report states that it supports $3.5 million be provided through USAID
for this important initiative to provide policy makers, analysts and
others with accurate information and practical policy recommendations
that will be needed over a multi-year basis to assist this country in
preparation for our next stage of interaction with the Cuban community
and nation. The Senate Committee Report similarly supported this
project, and it is my understanding that you support this project and
intend that it receive support from USAID.
Mr. McCONNELL. That is correct. Support for the Cuban Transition
Project was clearly stated in both the House and Senate Reports, and it
is the Committee's intention that the project be supported by USAID as
indicated. This project is envisioned as a critical component as we
prepare ourselves for dealing with Cuban issues in the future. It is
our intent that the Cuban Transition Project receive funding this year.
Mr. MACK. I thank the Chairman for reiterating his support and
clarifying the intent of the subcommittee. This project has the strong
support of the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee,
and I know that this committee will also be expressing support to the
agency. I would like to ask if you will be willing to further advise
the Agency formally of your position on this matter.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the subcommittee will further clarify
this matter with USAID and I would be happy to work further on any
concerns that my colleague from Florida may have.
Mr. MACK. I thank the Chairman for his comments.

POLIO ERADICATION

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I would like to engage in a colloquy with
Senator Leahy, ranking member of the Foreign Operations Appropriations
Subcommittee. It is my understanding that the Senate Appropriations
Committee report recommended $30 million for the global polio
eradication campaign at USAID and the House recommended $25 million. It
is also my understanding that the Child Survival and Disease Programs
Fund received a $248 million increase for Fiscal 2001 and that there
are sufficient funds for the USAID to provide the $30 million for
global polio eradication, am I correct?
Mr. LEAHY. Yes, we have provided sufficient funds to fund polio
eradication at the Senate level of $30 million.
Mr. HARKIN. Will the Senator work with me to ensure that the current
USAID Administrator and the Administrator in the new administration
provides $30 million for global polio eradication for fiscal 2001?
Mr. LEAHY. Yes, I would be happy to work for the Senator.
Mr. HARKIN. Thank you, Senator Leahy for your commitment and
leadership on this issue.

micronutrient funding

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I wonder if the distinguished ranking
member of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee. Senator Leahy would
engage in a brief colloquy about funding for USAID programs in
micronutrients?
Mr. LEAHY. I would be delighted to do so with the distinguished
Senator from Maryland, a member of the subcommittee.
Ms. MILKULSKI. It is my understanding that the conference report
currently under consideration makes no reference to micronutrient
programs funded through the Child Survival and Disease Programs Fund.
However, the Senate provided $30 million for this activity in its
version of H.R. 4811, while the House provided $25 million. Given that
the conference report before the Senate provides $963 million for child
survival and disease prevention activities, an increase of almost $250
million that I strongly support, I was wondering if the Ranking

[[Page S10981]]

Member would join me in working to obtain the Senate level of $30
million for micronutrient programs.
Mr. LEAHY. I would be happy to. As the Senator has correctly pointed
out, the conference report includes a significant increase for child
survival activities at USAID. AID is strongly encouraged to dedicate
more recourses to the micronutrient programs.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I thank my colleague.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to comment on the conference
report on the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
I reluctantly voted against that conference report, because it
contained a provision dramatically increasing the budget caps,
effectively throwing fiscal discipline to the wind.
But I want to go on record indicating that, if the amendment busting
the budget caps had not been included in the bill, my vote would have
been an enthusiastic yes. Substantively, this is a remarkably good
bill, and I commend the managers, Chairman McConnell and the ranking
member, Senator Leahy, as well as Chairman Callahan and Congresswoman
Pelosi for their excellent work.
An unprecedented commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS abroad and full
funding of the Administration's request for debt relief initiatives are
among the many laudable provisions in the bill that complement this
year's authorizing work of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The conference report contains significant assistance for important
family planning work, which can help to bring better health and
economic development to families and especially to women around the
world. Moreover, I am pleased to see that the bill does not contain
restrictive, so-called ``Mexico City'' language designed to limit what
private organizations can do with funds raised from non-U.S. government
sources.
During the debate on the Senate's version of this bill earlier this
year, I asked for, and received, the commitment of Senators McConnell
and Leahy to pursue full funding for flood recovery assistance in
Mozambique and southern Africa, a region of the world utterly
devastated by a series of cyclones earlier this year. This was
especially tragic, because prior to the flooding, Mozambique had been
making progress toward climbing out of poverty, enjoying economic
growth rates of 10 percent per year. I want to thank both Senators for
keeping their word. This conference report contains $135 million in
flood recovery assistance for the region. This is the right thing to
do.
I took a particular interest in the southern Africa issue, in part
because I serve as the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee's Subcommittee on African Affairs. In that same capacity, I
have joined with a number of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
to insist that the Administration make accountability a top priority in
the context of our policy towards Sierra Leone. I am gratified to note
that the statement of the managers accompanying the conference report
includes language urging the State Department to provide support for
the Special War Crimes Court for Sierra Leone. The support of the
Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee for this key
Congressional priority in West Africa should not be overlooked.
In another area of interest, I note that the conference report
retains language suspending certain types of military and security
assistance to Indonesia until a set of conditions relating to the
disarmament and disbanding of militia forces and accountability for
gross human rights abuses have been met. At the same time, it maintains
an appropriate level of assistance for the people of East Timor, who
are seeking to rebuild their communities and to fully realize their
independence each day.
Finally, the conference report provides strong support for the Peace
Corps and for important development assistance accounts which, when
responsibly administered and monitored, can serve U.S. interests in
building a more stable, prosperous, and democratic world.
All of these sound provisions make it all the more unfortunate that
the bill has been tainted with the budget-busting amendment, so that my
vote would have been an accurate reflection of my support for this
bill. Too often in the past, the Congress has failed to understand the
critical link between U.S. engagement with the rest of the world and
our national interests--our security, our health, our economic
stability, and even our national values. This bill recognizes those
links and moves in the right direction. It's a shame that a bill that
makes such sensible policy choices, so casually busts the budget caps
that we rely upon to ensure fiscal responsibility.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the Conference
Report for Foreign Operations Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2001.
The bill before us includes much that is good; in fact, it includes
much that is important for our national security. For example, with the
Middle East experiencing a level of turmoil not witnessed since the
1973 Yom Kippur War, the assistance in this bill for Israel and for
other friends and allies in the region constitutes an essential
component of our policy there. Vital humanitarian assistance programs
are funded, including debt relief for especially poor countries.
However, I cannot support this conference report because it raises
fiscal year 2001 discretionary spending caps to $637 billion from the
$600 billion that was provided for in the budget resolution passed in
April. Assuming that will be the new total amount of spending allowed,
that would be nearly $40 billion more than the budget resolution, $13
billion more than what the President requested, and $50 billion more
than what was spent in fiscal year 2000.
In addition, there remains the usual plethora of parochially-driven
spending directives. While the bill appears to avoid legally
restrictive earmarks, the effect of numerous provisions intended to do
precisely that: direct funds where Members of Congress want them to go,
usually for parochial reasons. I will be submitting a list of such
items for the Record.
The decision to vote against this bill, irrespective of the usual
pork-barrel provisions, however, was difficult. I recognize the
importance of aid to Israel during this crucial period in its history,
and I agree with the imperative of relieving the poorest countries of
the burden of their international debts. The fiscal irresponsibility of
Section 701 of this bill adjusting the spending caps upward to
accommodate greater levels of pork barrel spending is too much to
ignore. I'm not ignoring it, Mr. President. I oppose passage of this
bill because I abhor the continuing disregard for fiscal responsibility
it represents. And I abhor the cynicism illuminated by a decision to
attach such fiscally irresponsible language to a spending bill so
important to our national security.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record
earmarks, Member-adds, and directive language.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

Conference Report on H.R. 4811, Foreign Operations Appropriations for
Fiscal Year 2001--Earmarks, Member-Adds, and Directive Language

International Fertilizer Development Center: $4 million;
United States Telecommunications Training Institute:
$500,000;
National Albanian American Council training program: $1.3
million;
Section 536 Impact on Jobs in the United States:
restrictive language intended to curtail trade that adversely
affects employment in the United States;
Section 545 Purchase of American-Made Equipment and
Products: Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to
Congress on efforts by heads of Federal agencies to ensure
that directors of international financial institutions make
full use of American commodities, products and services;
Kiwanis/UNICEF Iodine Deficiency Program: $5 million;
University of California, San Fransisco: $500,000 to
develop detailed epidemiological HIV/AIDS profiles for
priority countries;
Gorgas Memorial Institute, University of Alabama: AID is
``urged'' to work closely with the institute, drawing from
the $60 million alloted to address global health threat from
tuberculosis;
Notre Dame's Vector Biology Laboratory Tulane University's
Department of Tropical Medicine: AID is ``urged'' to direct
$2 million to these institutes to establish Centers of
Excellence for malaria research;
Carelift International: AID is ``urged'' to direct $7
million to Carelift International;
University of Missouri-St. Louis International Laboratory
for Tropical Agriculture

[[Page S10982]]

biotechnology program: AID is ``urged'' to allocate $1
million;
University of California, Davis: AID is ``urged'' to
allocate $1 million for the university to train foreign
scientists;
Tuskegee University, Alabama: AID is ``urged'' to allocate
$1 million to establish a Center to Promote Biotechnology in
International Agriculture at Tuskegee University;
Marquette University, Wisconsin: AID is urged to allocate a
sum of money similar to that received under this bill as
other universities to the Les Aspin Center for Government;
United States Telecommunications Training Institute:
$500,000 ``should'' be made available for the institute;
Habitat for Humanity International: Department of State is
urged to coordinate with AID to ensure the program receives
$1.5 million;
Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability:
AID is ``urged'' to allocate $2.5 million to support
environmental threat assessments with interdisciplinary
experts and academicians;
Alfalit International: earmarks $1.5 million to combat
adult illiteracy;
University of San Fransisco: earmarks $1 million for the
Center for Latin American Trade Expansion to assist in the
development of trade promotion initiatives;
Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund: earmarks $12 million;
American Center for Oriental Research: DoS and AID are
``urged'' to allocate $2 million for the center,
headquartered in Amman, Jordan, with operations in Boston,
MA;
Dartmouth Medical School: AID is ``urged'' to allocate
$750,000 for a joint program with the University of Pristina
to help restore educational programs;
Florida State University: AID is ``urged'' to allocate $2
million for a distance learning program;
Synchrotron Light Source Particle Accelerator project
(SESAME): ``the managers intend that $15 million of the funds
made available for Armenia should support this or a
comparable project.'' Berkeley, California, partnership;
University of South Alabama: $1 million to study the
environmental causes of birth defects in Ukraine;
Ohio Center for Economic Initiatives National Telephone
Cooperative Association, Arlington, VA: $3.2 million for
industrial sector management tours;
University of Alaska/Alaska Pacific University/Alaska
Native regional governments (North Slope Borough and
Northwest Arctic Borough): $20 million for the activities of
these institutions in the Russian Far East;
World Council of Hellenes/United States-Russia Investment
Fund: allocates an unspecified sum to the World Council of
Hellenes and the United States-Russia Investment Fund to
support the Primary Healthcare Initiative in Ukraine,
Georgia, and Russia;
Notre Dame University: The Department of State is directed
to support the university's program of human rights,
democracy, and conflict resolution training in Colombia;
Naval Post-Graduate School, Monterey, California: DoS and
AID are ``urged'' to allocate $150,000 for development of a
peacekeeping initiative at the school;
Jamestown Foundation: $1 million to disseminate information
and support research about China.

Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, in June of this year I expressed my
displeasure with the foreign operations appropriations bill when it
came to the floor of the Senate. The overall funding level was too low,
security assistant accounts were unfunded, burdensome conditions were
placed on contributions to international organizations and an
inadequate appropriation was made for debt relief.
I'm pleased to find that the conference report has corrected some of
these problems in a very satisfactory way. Appropriators have done the
right thing on debt relief, by fully funding the amounts requested. As
the wealthiest nation in the world, there is no excuse for us ignoring
the plight of the world's poorest countries which are laboring under an
untenable debt burden.
I'm also relieved to see that the overall funding level of the bill
comes far closer to the administration's request than the bill that the
Senate passed in June. That bill, to my dismay, was $1.7 billion short
of what was asked for. The conference report is a vast improvement. It
is still some $200 million below what the executive branch has
projected that it will need to undertake foreign operations. Obviously
this is quite a large sum and there is a very serious need for Congress
to reverse the trend of undercutting State Department and Agency for
International Development programs. However the conference report
brings the money requested and the money appropriated substantially
closer.
The bill contains a provision for assistance to Serbia with which I
am in agreement. To unilaterally lift sanctions, or to open up the aid
spigot fully would be both premature and naive. The United States
should adopt the more measured response reflected in this provision.
The language in the conference report sends the right message that we
must condition our aid to the new regime in Serbia until it has clearly
demonstrated that it will cooperate with the Hague War Crimes Tribunal,
respect the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not undermine
the Dayton Accords, and that it will unequivocally renounce the use of
force in Kosovo and take steps to implement policies that reflect a
respect for minorities and rule of law.
Finally Mr. President, let me say that I am also relieved to see that
the level of funding dedicated to the Non-proliferation, Anti-
terrorism, De-mining and Related Programs (NADR) has been increased
substantially. The amount is almost $100 million more than the level in
the Senate passed bill, and slightly higher than the President's
request. Although I would like to see more resources dedicated to the
International Science and Technology Centers program, I welcome the
plus up in the larger account. These programs are a crucial element in
our strategy to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, and combat
terrorism.
One NADR account that received more than the amount requested was
export control assistance, and I truly applaud that. The assistance
that we give to other countries in developing export control laws,
regulations, and enforcement is absolutely crucial from the non-
proliferation standpoint, and it can also help combat international
terrorism. As we plus up that program, however, we must remember to
provide the personnel to implement it. Many of those personnel are in
the Department of Commerce, and more are needed. Unless appropriators
provide elsewhere the requested 7 additional personnel (which
translates into 5 additional FTE in Fiscal Year 2001) for the Bureau of
Export Administration, the additional funds that we make available in
this bill simply will not be implemented as effectively as we would
wish.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Foreign
Operations Appropriations Conference report. It has taken some time to
reach an agreement satisfactory to all interested parties, but I
believe that the bill before us goes a long way toward advancing
American interests abroad. Furthermore, this bill contains important
provisions to help poor and vulnerable world citizens.
First of all, I am especially pleased that appropriators have agreed
to fully fund the President's debt relief package for third world
countries, and that language has been included to allow the
International Monetary Fund to release $800 million from the sale of
gold reserves so that the interest earned on the proceeds can be put to
work providing debt forgiveness to heavily indebted poor nations in
Africa and parts of Latin America. The burden of external debt has
become a major impediment to economic development and poverty reduction
in many of the world's poorest countries--a reality I have witnessed
first-hand throughout my travels in Latin America. Until recently, the
United States government and other creditors sought to address this
problem by rescheduling loans, and in some cases, providing limited
debt reduction. Despite such efforts, the cumulative debt of many of
the poorest countries has continued to grow beyond their ability to
repay, and thus, developing economies are struggling. And, even worse,
it is the most vulnerable citizens in these fledgling democracies that
are suffering from this debt. When already poor governments are
investing vast amounts of their budgets in debt maintenance, little
remains for social services for those most in need. As a result, women,
children, and the poor end up suffering and living in want.
Throughout my tenure in the Senate, I have supported efforts to
target assistance for programs designed to address the special needs
and concerns of the poor, and I am grateful that we have had some
success in this undertaking. United States assistance programs,
together with other international aid efforts, have made basic human
necessities available to many of those most in need. However, I believe
that the debt reduction initiatives included in the Foreign Operations
bill

[[Page S10983]]

today build upon that success, and hope that they will dramatically
increase the quality of life for citizens in indebted countries. We
still have a long way to go to ensure that all people live free of
hunger and want, but I think that today we are taking a dramatic leap
forward toward that end.
I am also pleased with the increase in funding for children's health
programs included in this bill. This conference report provides $963
million for child survival and disease programs, $413 million more than
the administration requested. Besides providing funding of $110 million
for UNICEF, this money will be used for immunization programs, prenatal
care, polio eradication, combating illegal trafficking in women and
children, and the establishment of orphanages for displaced children.
My colleagues know of my deep commitment to child welfare both at home
and abroad. Indeed, too often children are overlooked because they do
not vote and have no voice in our political system. I am extremely
happy that children's welfare programs have been so generously funded
in this bill, and hope that this represents a trend that will continue
in the years to come.
Finally, I would like to comment on the family planning provisions in
the bill. I believe the problem of overpopulation is an extremely
important issue and population stabilization is crucial to the well-
being of the planet. Overpopulation threatens to exert tremendous
social, ecological, medical, and economic hardship on much of the
world, and we must take strong action to limit it.
For families living under the conditions that exist in many
developing nations, family planning is critical. Without it, mothers
have great difficulty spacing their births and limiting the number of
children they bear and, as a result, they suffer the tremendous
physical stress of repeated childbirth--often without the aid of
physicians or midwives. Furthermore, women are not the only ones who
suffer in these cases; their children suffer too. Children in large
families find themselves competing for food with other siblings. As a
result, they suffer from higher incidents of malnutrition and hunger.
Under the compromise included in the conference report, family
planning groups abroad can finally use their own money to provide
family planning services, although the restriction on federal funding
of abortions continues. In addition, Congress has boosted the general
funding available for international family planning from $370 million
to $425 million which will be available for expenditure after February
15, 2001. By helping women avoid pregnancy before conception, this
funding will help mothers in developing countries better plan their
child rearing, and will reduce the number of abortions performed
annually. Moreover, it will ensure that every child born is a wanted
child and will reduce the number of children born to parents who do not
have the resources to care for them.
I believe that this is a good bill. It helps those who need it most,
and provides funding for our international priorities. It includes
money to help end the devastation of AIDS in Africa, assists women,
children, and the poor, and allows governments to finally get out of
the shadow of crushing debt that both economic circumstance and
mismanagement caused to be accrued. On balance, the programs funded in
this appropriations bill advance America's foreign policy and national
security interests. In short, it is good for the people of the world,
and the people of America. When we invest pro-actively in global
stability we encourage peace and commerce, and everybody wins. For
these reasons, I will vote in favor of this bill and encourage my
colleagues to do the same.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise as a member of the Foreign
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee to express my strong support for
this conference report. I want to extend my congratulations to Senator
Leahy and Senator McConnell as this is clearly one of the best Foreign
Operations bills produced in recent years.
This is a good bill which will advance U.S. interests on many fronts.
This is a good bill for my constituents who are engaged in global
affairs in everything from international trade to humanitarian relief
efforts. This is always a tough bill to finish because it address
several very controversial issues. Unlike years past, however, this
bill is being widely praised by both parties and by the Administration.
Again, that is a tribute to the leaders of our subcommittee who worked
so hard to bridge very difficult issues.
Perhaps the most significant agreement within this bill is the
commitment to fulfill U.S. obligations on debt relief. By providing the
requested $435 million for debt relief, this Congress is sending a
powerful message to the poorest countries in the world. The U.S. and
the international community, by following through on debt relief to the
world's poorest citizens, can give new hope to millions of people. I am
proud to have supported this effort. And I am so proud of my
constituents who embraced campaigns like Jubilee 2000 which made debt
relief an issue no one could ignore.
I want to single out one gentleman in particular who touched so many
of us here on Capitol Hill with his work. The Reverend David Duncombe
from White Salmon, Washington was a heroic champion for debt relief. On
two occasions in the last year, Reverend Duncombe staged hunger strikes
here in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate the effects of starvation on
the human body. Reverend Duncombe visited my office almost every
Wednesday morning when he was in Washington, D.C. He stood before us
all, day after day, in solidarity with the millions of people affected
by this issue. Passage of debt relief is a genuine tribute to people
like David Duncombe who rallied Americans to the debt relief cause all
across our country. I'm proud Americans came together to ensure our
foreign aid dollars will make a difference for poor citizens around the
world.
I am strongly in support of this bill's increased funding for
international family planning. This bill also repeals the global
``Gag'' order which has crippled our international family planning
efforts in previous bills. We know that more and more women in the
developing world are starting businesses and contributing to the
economic health of families. These women want access to family planning
programs and information to build strong, sustainable families. It is
time to take our domestic political debate out of the international
family planning appropriations process once and for all. International
family planning programs help save the lives of women throughout the
world. International family planning in a health issue and should be
treated that way.
This bill is also strong in the area of export promotion. This bill
provides more than $900 million to the Export-Import Bank of the United
States which facilitates job creating exports from throughout our
country. Other trade promotion entities like OPIC and TDA will receive
increased funding under this bill as well. These programs are tangible,
real proof that our foreign aid program generates jobs and economic
opportunity for Americans.
There's so much more in this bill which will benefit America's
interests. We continue our strong program of microcredit lending. Our
commitment to UNICEF and important organizations like the Peace Corps
continues with this bill. And we are providing increased funding to
confront AIDS, tuberculosis and other health threats to the developing
world. I am particularly supportive of the bill's $50 million
contribution to the Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunizations. The
Foreign Operations Subcommittee has devoted much energy to the GAVI
effort, and I encourage the Senate to continue its involvement in this
promising program.
Our efforts to assist Russia and the former Soviet states as they
continue to struggle with reform are key parts of this bill. Washington
state is particularly interested in the Russian Far East. This bill
funds democracy-building initiatives, economic transition and other
programs for most regions of the former Soviet Union. It's frustrating
work, but I support this assistance because it is important to our
national interest. In other parts of the world, this bill funds human
rights work, environmental protection programs, and other important
democracy-building initiatives. From Burma to Serbia to Latin America,
this bill works to advance America's interests in so many areas.
Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support this important
conference report.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. HUTCHINSON). Who yields time?

[[Page S10984]]

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, does the Senator from Florida still
have time remaining?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 30 seconds remaining.
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield back my 30 seconds.
Mr. McCONNELL. Is there any other time remaining under the agreement?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky has 5\1/2\ minutes.
Mr. McCONNELL. I yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senator Leahy has 9 minutes. Senator Byrd and
Senator Stevens have 5 minutes each remaining.
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, earlier I had mentioned Robin Cleveland and
Tim Rieser. I also want to thank Jennifer Chartrand and Billy Piper on
the Republican side, who are always very helpful and did a superb job.
On the Democratic side, Mark Lippert, who recently joined my staff from
the Democratic Policy Committee, is mastering the Appropriations
Committee process. I saw Jay Kimmitt on the floor earlier of the
committee staff. Not only is he a good friend but a repository of all
knowledge and the one to whom we can all turn when we need to know just
how to get out of whatever mess we have stumbled into.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank Tim Rieser and Mark Lippert, a
representative of Senator Leahy's staff, Jennifer Chartrand, and, of
course, my longtime associate, Robin Cleveland, and Billy Piper as
well, for their great work on this bill. I thank Senator Leahy. It was
good to work with him again this year.
Having said that, I understand there are 5 minutes that Senator
Stevens has reserved. I am told he is happy for me to yield that time
back.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I also yield
back the time of the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia,
Mr. Byrd.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCONNELL. Let me also thank Jay Kimmitt, majority appropriations
staff, for his outstanding work as well. With that, I believe we are
ready.
Mr. President, I will propound a unanimous consent request before we
go to the vote. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to
the vote regarding the foreign operations conference report, to be
followed by 4 minutes of debate with closing remarks with respect to
the pending Feingold amendment to S. 2508 and that vote immediately
occur following those closing remarks, to be followed by a vote in
relation to the continuing resolution.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCONNELL. Therefore, Mr. President, there will be three back-to-
back rollcall votes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the conference
report. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the
roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Missouri (Mr.
Ashcroft), the Senator from Montana (Mr. Burns), the Senator from
Tennessee (Mr. Frist), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Grams), and the
Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Helms) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Montana (Mr. Burns) would vote ``yea.''
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka) the
Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), and the Senator from
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.--
The result was announced--yeas 65, nays 27, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 280 Leg.]

YEAS--65

Abraham
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brownback
Bunning
Campbell
Chafee, L.
Cochran
Collins
Crapo
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Gorton
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Kennedy
Kerry
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McConnell
Mikulski
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Shelby
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden

NAYS--27

Allard
Bayh
Breaux
Bryan
Byrd
Cleland
Conrad
Craig
Edwards
Enzi
Feingold
Fitzgerald
Graham
Gramm
Johnson
Kerrey
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lincoln
McCain
Miller
Robb
Sessions
Smith (NH)
Thomas
Voinovich

NOT VOTING--8

Akaka
Ashcroft
Burns
Feinstein
Frist
Grams
Helms
Lieberman
The conference report was agreed to.

____________________