[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S559-S560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DISCHARGE AND REFERRAL OF S. 21

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 21 be 
discharged from the Committee on Finance and be referred to the 
Committees on Budget and Governmental Affairs, per the order of August 
4, 1977.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I certainly support the leader's efforts to 
have us work a full workweek in the Senate Chamber. I do say we can 
really develop some bad habits. I know our leader has already been 
requested to see if we can get off on Wednesday nights. We really have 
to get started having some votes on more than 3 days a week.
  I also say to the leader that we worked hard on this side, as I have 
indicated. There is a spirit of bipartisanship. I think that was helped 
yesterday with the meeting at the White House.
  We really want to move these along, and the record should reflect, 
except for one nomination, Tuesday afternoon they will all have been 
completed. We hope in the foreseeable future we will be able to work 
the final one, debate it, resolve it. Hopefully, that can be done 
expeditiously.
  We are willing to do the best we can. The record should reflect, with 
the remaining nomination, there are tons of questions. I know the 
committees are trying to work their way through that so we can have 
those answers so the debate can take place expeditiously.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if I may respond to Senator Reid's comments, 
with regard to the questions that need to be answered by the designee 
to be Attorney General, former Senator Ashcroft, this very morning we 
worked to encourage that those questions be answered as quickly as 
possible and gotten to the committee. Hopefully, that will be done 
today, and I understand Senator Daschle, if that can be done, is going 
to work with us to see if we can move that nomination in a reasonable 
time next week. I appreciate that very much.
  Senator Reid touched on our meeting with the President yesterday 
morning. It was a bipartisan, bicameral meeting. I thought it was a 
very good meeting. Again, the President was reaching out to the 
Congress and to the American people through their leaders. That was the 
sixth meeting he has had with congressional leaders in only 3 days as 
President, or workweek as President. He did have Sunday.

  It has been Republicans, Democrats, leaders on education, the elected 
leaders, but the thing I liked about it, it

[[Page S560]]

was not just an effort to reach out with platitudes of courtesy. We got 
into a discussion on issues, not in great depth, but Senators and 
Congressmen were able to raise points of concern and interest. I think 
there was a belief on both sides that it was a very positive meeting. I 
hope this is the first of many of that type in the months to come.
  I will be glad to yield the floor at this time so others may speak.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, before the majority leader leaves, the one 
referral the majority leader made we just learned has not been cleared 
by Finance yet.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I thought it was routine business and 
thought it had been cleared.

                          ____________________