[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 59 (Thursday, May 3, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4230-S4232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, we have been discussing the schedule and
voting order with Senator Daschle and the managers of the legislation
and how we would handle other issues. I think we have a good agreement.
We need to read it carefully and make sure we understand exactly who is
going to be offering the amendments.
I ask unanimous consent that if the House of Representatives has
adopted and copies have been made available under the Senate rules,
then the Senate proceed to the conference report to accompany the
budget resolution at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 7, and the time between
then and 6:30 p.m. be divided with 12 hours under the control of the
minority manager and 3\1/2\ hours under the control of the majority
manager.
I further ask unanimous consent that the vote occur on adoption of
the conference report at 6:30 p.m. and that paragraph 4 of rule XII be
waived.
As in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that immediately
following the 6:30 p.m. vote on Monday, May 7, the Senate proceed to
executive session to consider Calendar No. 39, the nomination of John
Robert Bolton to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and
International Security, and there be 3 hours of debate equally divided
as follows: 30 minutes under control of the chairman, 30 minutes under
the control of the ranking member, 60 minutes under control of Senator
Dorgan, 30 minutes under the control of Senator Feinstein, and 30
minutes under the control of Senator Kerry.
I further ask unanimous consent that following the use of time the
Senate proceed to vote at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 8, on the
confirmation of Mr. Bolton, and following the vote, the President be
immediately notified of the Senate's action, the motion to reconsider
be laid upon the table, and the Senate immediately resume legislative
session.
Finally, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate resumes
consideration of S. 1 at 10 a.m. on Friday, the next amendment to be in
order be offered by Senator Craig regarding ESEA funding, and the next
amendment in order for the minority side of the aisle be an amendment
by Senator Kennedy, or his designee, and that any votes ordered with
respect to these amendments occur in a stacked sequence after the 6:30
vote on Monday, with no second degrees in order, and 2 minutes prior to
each vote for explanation.
I note that we are not sure which amendment Senator Kennedy or the
Democrats will want to go with in the morning. It could be Senator
Murray, Senator Wellstone, or some other amendment. I believe you will
work that out during the vote, and we will need to be notified, of
course, of which one it will be and its substance.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would
like to ask the majority leader, is there any way that he could
postpone this vote until Tuesday morning? I will not be here Monday
evening. There is no way I can be here. I haven't missed a vote this
year.
Mr. LOTT. If the Senator will withhold one moment, I believe Senator
Byrd has a question, too, and then I will come back to the Senator in a
minute.
Mr. BYRD. I thank the leader. Mr. President, I am very much opposed
to lining up votes, stacking votes, and I am constrained to object to
stacking votes. I don't think that is a good way to do business in the
Senate. I have bitten my tongue many times and did not object. I think
I should put both leaders on notice, if I may use that kind of
[[Page S4231]]
language, that I am going to be a little tougher to deal with when it
comes to stacking votes in the future than I have been in the past. I
don't think it is a good idea. I don't think Senators know what they
are voting on.
We ought to be here and be ready to vote. I know the problems of both
leaders. I know them well. I am not going to object in this instance,
but I want to put the Senate on notice that I will have a more
difficult time in the future voting for sequential amendments in a
stacked order. I will not object at this time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. Reserving the right to object.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call
be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I appreciate Senator Daschle working with
me. Senator Daschle and I have been talking about ways we could
accommodate as many Senators as possible. It is often difficult because
a lot of us have very important responsibilities. But we also have a
responsibility to pass education amendments, a budget resolution, and
nominations. So I will modify the unanimous consent request in this
way, without at this point changing the time.
If any time on the budget resolution should be yielded back on
Monday, we could go back at that point to the education bill, and at
that time if there are other amendments that could be offered--and I
presume there would be two--then we would get an agreement as to when
they would be voted on, realizing that Senator Byrd would not want to
have a stacked sequence of multiple votes. That way, we can get more
education work done Monday. I encourage those who will be handling the
budget to consider doing that, if at all possible. Senator Daschle
suggested perhaps that will work.
I modify my earlier request to change the stacked votes of the two
amendments that will be offered tomorrow, if votes are required, and
the budget resolution at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Mr. DASCHLE. Plus the Bolton nomination.
Mr. LOTT. The Bolton nomination is already in the request at 9:30
a.m.
Mr. CONRAD. Reserving the right to object.
Mr. SHELBY. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask the majority leader, to understand
the steps we are going through, is the majority leader saying to the
Senate we will postpone the 5:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. vote on Monday until
Tuesday morning?
Mr. LOTT. Tuesday morning at 9:30. I believe that will cause the
sacrifice of other Senators, but that is what it provides. The votes
will be at 9:30 a.m. instead of 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Mr. CONRAD. Is there an understanding on Tuesday morning there will
be time for both sides to sum up before the vote on the budget?
Mr. LOTT. I believe the UC provides for 2 minutes prior to each vote
for final explanation of the vote about to occur.
Mr. CONRAD. I thank the leader.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request as modified?
Mr. KENNEDY. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KENNEDY. I do not intend to object. As the leader has pointed
out, we have been on this bill for some time. We are prepared to move
ahead tomorrow and on Monday. There are a number of amendments. We are
prepared to go through Tuesday evening or Wednesday evening or Thursday
evening, but I hope we will not be put in the position later on, since
we have been on this bill for some time, where we have to come to a
vote, denying Members the opportunity to offer their amendments.
I wanted to put that in the Record at this time because we are
prepared to move ahead. We are glad to accommodate the leadership, but
we have additional amendments that are extremely important. I want to
make it very clear, I want to make sure people are going to be fairly
treated. I am glad to accommodate others, but I want to make sure those
who are going to offer amendments will be accommodated. There is no
reason not to think so tonight. I just felt compelled to raise that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand that. That is why I want us to
make progress and try to make progress on Monday. Certainly the Senate
should be prepared to go into the evening Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday, to complete this important legislation.
Senators need to cooperate with the managers and be prepared to offer
amendments tomorrow, Monday afternoon, and Tuesday night because what
will happen is, we are all busy and when we get to next Thursday, when
we need to start wrapping it up, Senators will say: I didn't have a
chance.
They have their chance. I hope both sides will talk to the managers
and be prepared to offer their amendments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request as modified?
Mr. DASCHLE. Reserving the right to object. For clarification, are we
limited to two amendments tomorrow?
Mr. LOTT. Under this agreement, it specifies two, but I see no reason
why we cannot do more if it can be worked out.
Mr. DASCHLE. I modify the UC request that two or more amendments be
offered tomorrow and that those amendments be accommodated.
Mr. LOTT. That is a good idea, Mr. President. I support that although
noting we specify the first two that will be in order and we should go
beyond that if at all possible.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request as further
modified?
Mr. CONRAD. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, two questions. One, we had people on this
side ask for a little more time on Tuesday morning--we have at least 5
minutes on the budget--given the importance of it.
No. 2, is there an order to the votes on Tuesday morning?
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, first of all, I modify the request that we
extend the time on the budget to 5 minutes instead of 2 for the others.
The order will be: Budget, the two education amendments, with the Craig
amendment first, then Senator Kennedy, or designee, and then the Bolton
nomination.
Mr. CONRAD. Might I request that given the importance of the budget,
in terms of the sequence, there be at least one amendment preceding it
so people are here to actually hear the debate?
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let's modify it to do the Bolton vote first,
and then we will go to the budget vote after that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request as so
modified?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, would you repeat that unanimous consent back
to me?
(Laughter.)
Mr. LOTT. Just kidding, Mr. President. I think we all have it.
Amendment No. 361
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair advises the Senate that there are 2
minutes equally divided on the Jeffords amendment.
Who yields time?
Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I yield myself 1 minute.
This is the Jeffords test trigger amendment. Under the bill, grades 3
through 8 will have to be tested by each State. The Federal Government
is supposed to fund the cost of those tests. The amendment merely says
if there is no money, there is no test, at least for that year.
This is to prevent the States from being placed in a position of
having no money and having to administer very expensive tests.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask the senior Senator from Vermont
[[Page S4232]]
whether he requires a rollcall vote or if he will accept a voice vote.
Mr. JEFFORDS. I want a rollcall vote.
Mr. KENNEDY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays have been ordered. Do
Senators yield back there time?
Mr. JEFFORDS. I yield back the remainder of my time.
Mr. KENNEDY. I yield back our time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
361. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 7, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 90 Leg.]
YEAS--93
Akaka
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Corzine
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Thomas
Torricelli
Voinovich
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--7
Gramm
Helms
Inhofe
Kyl
Smith (NH)
Thompson
Thurmond
The amendment (No. 361) was agreed to.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. GRAMM. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 365
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are now 2 minutes equally divided before
the vote on the Dodd amendment.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, the cosponsor of this amendment, Senator
Collins of Maine, and I, think we made such a convincing argument
during the hour and a half debate that we will yield our 2 minutes, and
we ask for the immediate vote on this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has been yielded. The question is on
agreeing to the amendment. The yeas and nays have been ordered, and the
clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 79, nays 21, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 91 Leg.]
YEAS--79
Akaka
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Corzine
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Ensign
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Graham
Grassley
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--21
Allard
Bond
Brownback
Bunning
Craig
Enzi
Frist
Gramm
Gregg
Helms
Inhofe
Kyl
Lott
Murkowski
Nickles
Santorum
Smith (NH)
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Voinovich
The amendment (No. 365) was agreed to.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Ms. COLLINS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
just agreed to, the Dodd-Collins amendment, be modified to conform to
the Jeffords-Kennedy pending substitute amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it so ordered.
____________________