[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1092-S1094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--S. 27

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be 
determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the 
Democratic leader, either on March 19, 2001, or March 26, 2001, the 
Rules Committee be immediately discharged from consideration of S. 27, 
as introduced, and the Senate shall return to its immediate 
consideration.
  I further ask unanimous consent that following the reporting of the 
bill by the clerk, the bill become the pending business, to the 
exclusion of all other business, except for a motion to temporarily 
postpone consideration of the pending legislation made by the 
Republican leader, following approval of the Democratic leader, and 
that no call for the regular order serve to displace this item, except 
one made by the Republican leader, also after the approval of the 
Democratic leader.
  I ask unanimous consent that when a first-degree amendment is 
offered, there be up to 3 hours evenly divided in the usual form for 
debate only, after which a motion to table may be made. If a motion to 
table fails, the amendment then be fully debatable and amendable. 
Further, that if the motion to table is not made at the expiration of 
the 3 hours, a vote occur on the amendment without intervening action, 
motion or debate, provided that no point of order be considered as 
having been waived by this agreement.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I will 
have more comment later, but is it the intent of the majority leader to 
include in this unanimous consent agreement debate and disposal of the 
Hollings constitutional amendment as well?
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I respond to the Senator from South Dakota 
that I will, after this agreement is entered into, follow that 
immediately with an agreement with regard to the Hollings 
constitutional amendment, which I assume will also be agreed to.

  Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the majority leader. I have no objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, would the Senator like to be heard at this 
point? I will be glad to yield to Senator McCain for comment before I 
go to the next consent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader and the 
Democratic leader, without whose strenuous efforts we would not have 
been able to enter into this unanimous consent agreement.
  I want to make one thing clear: This campaign finance reform will be 
before the Senate bumping up against the April recess. I hope we can 
devote every effort to get that done in the final 2 weeks before the 
April recess. It would be very good if we could, over a 2-week period, 
dispose of amendments and move to final passage. It is critical that we 
do that. Perhaps, if necessary, we could even delay the recess, 
something that none of us like, but we really don't want to have this 
issue clouding the legislative agenda for the rest of the year.
  I thank Senator Lott and Senator Daschle, but I do want to point out, 
I do insist that we get a final vote on this issue. We really need to 
have it disposed of finally. I know Senator Daschle and Senator Lott 
appreciate that.
  If there is a filibuster, in other words, just a loading up of 
amendments, whether they be extraneous or not, but basically covering 
the same ground, I will be the first to condemn that, and I know that 
my friend from Wisconsin feels the same way. There are a number of 
issues that need to be addressed, but we will know if it is becoming 
extraneous and just a delaying tactic. Then we will have to make our 
decisions as to what our options are.
  We owe it to the American people, and we owe it to the Members of 
this body who have been involved in this issue for so long to bring 
this issue to conclusion.
  I ask unanimous consent that a colloquy between myself and Senator 
Lott be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page S1093]]

  Mr. LOTT. I believe that colloquy also includes Senator Daschle. I 
think the three of us are included.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would 
like to see a copy of that colloquy.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, if I could get a clarification, the Senator 
is reserving the right to object?
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I would like to see a copy of the 
colloquy that was just referred to before agreeing to unanimous consent 
that it be printed in the Record.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask that Senator McCain withhold that 
request until he can consult further with his colleague. I presume 
there would be no problem at that point.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. If I could make a brief comment, as did my leader, 
Senator McCain, I thank the majority leader for his cooperation on 
this, coming to this agreement. I especially thank the Democratic 
leader, who has not only provided our Democratic unity on this issue, 
but has also worked so effectively to help us come to this agreement. I 
also thank the Senator from Michigan, Mr. Levin, who is not with us on 
the floor at this time, for his tremendous efforts on this.

  I reiterate two points the Senator from Arizona has made. One is that 
this, fortunately, through the cooperation of everybody, will be a 
truly open process. Senator McCain and I have been very involved in 
this issue. But we are certainly not the only people who know a lot 
about this issue. Every Member of the Senate is an expert on campaign 
finance reform. That means it is essential that every Senator have an 
open chance to participate in the amending process. I believe that is 
what this agreement truly does.
  The second is to simply agree with the Senator from Arizona that we 
want to finish as fast as we can, within the bounds of giving everybody 
a chance to participate. We hope to finish before the Easter recess. 
But we will make sure that this matter comes to a vote up or down in 
the end and that is our understanding in going forward with this 
agreement.
  I thank the leader.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, while the Senators are consulting, we are 
going to have a colloquy. Let me add to what has been said by Senators 
McCain and Feingold, and I know Senator Daschle feels the same way.
  This is a fair and very open agreement. I guess there is plenty of 
opportunity for mischief, if somebody on either side decides to cause 
it. I guess we could get tangled up on many issues, completely 
unrelated to election and campaign finance reform. But we are trying to 
all act in good faith. We are going to have to try to do that.
  The way this is constructed, Senators should have an opportunity to 
offer amendments, have those amendments debated for a reasonable period 
of time--3 hours is a good bit of time--and get a vote. Then if that 
doesn't carry, then a second degree could be offered or other 
amendments could be offered. I suppose that one example of the kind of 
mischief you can have is a Senator could get the floor and talk for a 
long time without ever offering an amendment and eat up 2 hours before 
he or she ever lays down their amendment. Then there would be 3 hours. 
That is not good faith. That would be violating the spirit of what we 
are doing here. Three hours is enough time to talk and have a vote.
  I have said all along, unlike in the past, I think everybody ought to 
have a chance to make their case and get a vote. I also think that 2 
weeks is long enough. In that period of time, if you get to figuring 
the amount of time we are going to be in, a number of amendments could 
be offered. I don't know whether it will wind up being 15 or 25. But 
there will be plenty of opportunity, and more, for amendments to be 
offered and then to wrap it up. I think, hopefully, we will get a vote 
on final passage of the end product and move on. I am going to think 
that bad faith, again, is at play if we are into the middle of the 
third week, or if it goes beyond that, when we should be taking up the 
budget resolution instead or taking up some other issue, such as 
energy, or any other matter. I think we have a fair parameter in terms 
of how amendments can be offered, debated, voted on, and come to a 
conclusion within a 2-week period of time.

  I ask that Senators on both sides of the aisle try to live up not 
only to the specifics of the agreement and the colloquy, but the spirit 
in which it has been put together.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I was going to wait until after the other 
unanimous consent request, but I am compelled now to add my comments. I 
don't think it could have been said any better than what you have just 
heard the majority leader say. As we talked about how we were going to 
run the Senate over the next 2 years, I can't tell you the number of 
times we have said you can put as much as you want on paper, but at the 
end of the day it is going to be what good faith there is between 
caucuses and among Senators on whether or not this will work. I believe 
this is a good example. We can put as much on paper as we want to, but 
it still depends upon the intentions and the approach and the attitude 
that people bring to the floor as we debate this issue.
  As the majority leader said, I think 2 weeks ought to be adequate. 
There are a lot of complicated issues here. Clearly, if anybody comes 
with good faith, we ought to have a good, vigorous debate on all of the 
issues and accommodate all of the ideas and the philosophies that are 
presented as we consider these amendments.
  I compliment the majority leader and thank him for his approach in 
this matter, and I certainly compliment our two ardent advocates and 
leaders on campaign finance reform, Senators McCain and Feingold. They 
have put forth an extraordinary amount of effort to bring us to this 
point. We are going to work with them to assure this is a productive 
and successful debate. I am appreciative of the effort that has been 
made to get us to this point. I look forward to the debate. I don't 
think we can have a better framework within which to have the debate in 
the coming weeks. I yield the floor.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I am pleased to come to the floor today to 
share with my colleagues the discussions that the Senator from Arizona 
and I have been having on campaign reform. I appreciate the Senator's 
willingness to work through this issue, and I believe that we have come 
up with a fair arrangement.
  Mr. McCAIN. I thank the majority leader for working with me on this 
agreement. I believe that it accommodates my desire to have a full and 
open debate early, while ensuring that the leader has the opportunity 
to move important bills prior to its consideration.
  Mr. LOTT. Under this agreement, the President will have some time to 
introduce his agenda to the American people and to the Congress. I 
believe that the agreement we have reached will allow us to begin work 
on some of these issues, while ensuring that campaign, political, and 
election reform is addressed early. It is my hope that we will be able 
to move expeditiously on both education reform and the budget 
resolution in the next 2 months. To that end, should we have a budget 
resolution ready for floor consideration prior to March 19, we will 
consider the resolution first. If the budget is not ready within that 
timeframe, we will consider campaign, political and election reform 
first, to be followed by consideration of the budget in early April.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. Leader, I just want to add that I am very pleased 
that this agreement has been worked out in a cooperative way with 
Senator McCain and also the Democratic leader. I also want to thank 
Senator Levin for his contribution to this agreement. We look forward 
to having a full and fair debate on our bill for the first time.
  Mr. McCAIN. It is important that there is a full and open debate on 
campaign reform. I am pleased that the majority leader has agreed to 
use S. 27, the McCain-Feingold bill, as the legislation that will be 
considered by the Senate.
  Mr. LOTT. It is my intention to call up S. 27, the McCain-Feingold 
bill, within the time frame we have discussed. I also believe that we 
should have a full and open debate. I expect that many of my colleagues 
have ideas on campaign reform, political reform

[[Page S1094]]

and election reform that warrant consideration by the Senate. The 
amendments, I hope, should be on the subjects of campaign reform, 
political reform and election reform. In addition, I do not anticipate 
a circumstance arising that will compel me to use my prerogatives as 
majority leader to fill up the amendment tree. I anticipate that we 
will have a full, open and spirited debate on any amendment offered to 
the Senate for consideration. Let me be clear, we intend to allow an 
opportunity for all amendments to be considered. Therefore, I do not 
expect that any major striking amendments, or the so-called wrap around 
amendments will be offered toward the end of the Senate's 
consideration. I intend to complete action on the bill, working long 
hours if necessary, within 2 weeks.
  Mr. McCAIN. I appreciate the majority leader's assurances that all 
amendments will be considered by the Senate. It is also my intention to 
let the will of the Senate prevail. I share the majority leader's 
intention that all amendments be fairly considered and voted on prior 
to final passage, and I agree that a wrap around amendment would be a 
show of bad faith. I will work with the majority leader to ensure that 
all amendments are voted on and the bill is ready for final action 
within the 2 weeks that the leader anticipates. In order to facilitate 
this, it would be my hope and expectation that the bill would not be 
filibustered.
  Mr. LOTT. As the Senator from Arizona is aware, every Senator has 
rights in this regard. However, I would discourage any efforts to 
filibuster this measure, and do not anticipate a filibuster of this 
bill. In fact, it is my expectation that the Senate will finish 
deliberations of campaign, political and election reform within 2 weeks 
of commencing action on it. I am determined to stick to this schedule, 
even if we must work through the weekend to complete action.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. I thank the leader for his comments, and I want to 
assure him that supporters of this bill are ready to work through the 
weekend and into the evenings to make sure that this bill passes the 
Senate in a timely manner. I think the American people will applaud the 
leader's statement that he does not anticipate a filibuster on this 
important legislation. I think we have reached a fair and balanced 
agreement, and I congratulate the leader and my colleague from Arizona 
for this achievement.
  Mr. McCAIN. I thank the majority leader and I appreciate his 
willingness to work with me on this important issue. Again, I believe 
that we have reached a fair and balanced agreement.
  Mr. LOTT. I thank my colleague from Arizona.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I congratulate the majority leader and the Senator 
from Arizona for this win-win compromise. The deal will allow the 
President's top agenda items to be center stage prior to a discussion 
on campaign and election reform. And I agree that we will all work to 
keep the debate focused on these issues and that a wrap-around 
amendment would be a show of bad faith.
  We may disagree on the public's interest in campaign reform, but I 
think that we can all certainly agree that there is a true public 
demand for election reform and political reform. The upcoming debate 
will in many respects be the equivalent of a bill mark-up on the Senate 
floor. I think we all agree that there should be a full opportunity for 
everyone who wants to offer an amendment to be allowed to do so and to 
get a vote on that amendment without any games played by either side. 
So I want to thank the majority leader and my colleague from Arizona 
for their willingness to ensure that an open and robust debate will 
occur on this matter. I also appreciate the willingness of my colleague 
from Arizona to work with the majority leader to ensure that no vote on 
final passage occur until all amendments are voted on. I, too, believe 
that this is a fair agreement and again, I congratulate the leader and 
the Senator from Arizona.

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