[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 94 (Monday, July 9, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7316-S7324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001--Continued
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
amendment no. 865
Mr. VOINOVICH. I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its
immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending amendment is laid aside. The clerk
will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Ohio [Mr. Voinovich], for himself, Mr.
Helms, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Crapo, proposes an amendment
numbered 865.
Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent reading of the
amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To protect the social security surpluses by preventing on-
budget deficits)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ____. PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUSES ACT OF 2001.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Protect Social Security Surpluses Act of 2001''.
(b) Revision of Enforcing Deficit Targets.--Section 253 of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
(2 U.S.C. 903) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Excess Deficit; Margin.--The excess deficit is, if
greater than zero, the estimated deficit for the budget year,
minus the margin for that year. In this subsection, the
margin for each fiscal year is 0.5 percent of estimated total
outlays for that fiscal year.'';
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Eliminating Excess Deficit.--Each non-exempt account
shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multiplying
the baseline level of sequesterable budgetary resources in
that account at that time by the uniform percentage necessary
to eliminate an excess deficit.''; and
(3) by striking subsections (g) and (h).
(c) Economic and Technical Assumptions.--Notwithstanding
section 254(j) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
[[Page S7317]]
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 904(j)), the Office of
Management and Budget shall use the economic and technical
assumptions underlying the report issued pursuant to section
1106 of title 31, United States Code, for purposes of
determining the excess deficit under section 253(b) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as
added by subsection (b).
(d) Application of Sequestration to Budget Accounts.--
Section 256(k) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 906(k)) is amended by--
(1) striking paragraph (2); and
(2) redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as paragraphs
(2) through (5), respectively.
(e) Strengthening Social Security Points of Order..--
(1) In general.--Section 312 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643) is amended by inserting at the end
the following:
``(g) Strengthening Social Security Point of Order.--It
shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the
Senate to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget (or
any amendment thereto or conference report thereon) or any
bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
report that would violate or amend section 13301 of the
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.''.
(2) Super majority requirement.--
(A) Point of order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after
``310(d)(2),''.
(B) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after
``310(d)(2),''.
(3) Enforcement in each fiscal year.--The Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended in--
(A) section 301(a)(7) (2 U.S.C. 632(a)(7)), by striking
``for the fiscal year'' through the period and inserting
``for each fiscal year covered by the resolution''; and
(B) section 311(a)(3) (2 U.S.C. 642(a)(3)), by striking
beginning with ``for the first fiscal year'' through the
period and insert the following: ``for any of the fiscal
years covered by the concurrent resolution.''.
(f) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made
by this section shall apply to fiscal years 2002 through
2006.
Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, one of the primary reasons I wanted to
serve as a Senator was to have an opportunity to bring fiscal
responsibility to our Nation and help reduce our national debt. As many
of my colleagues know, for decades successive Congresses and Presidents
spent money on items that, while important, they were unwilling to pay
for or, in the alternative, do without. In the process, Washington ran
up a staggering debt and mortgaged our future. Today our national debt
stands at about $5.7 trillion. That costs about $200 billion a year in
interest payments.
From the time I arrived in the Senate, I have worked to rein in
spending and lower the national debt. Over the past 2\1/2\ years, I
have cosponsored and sponsored a number of amendments designed to bring
fiscal discipline to the Federal Government. In March of 1999, I
offered an amendment to use whatever on-budget surplus as calculated in
the fiscal year 2000 budget to pay down the debt. In March of 2000, I
again offered my amendment to use the on-budget surplus calculated for
fiscal year 2001 for debt reduction. In an effort to bring spending
under control, Senator Allard and I offered an amendment in June of
2000 to direct $12 billion of fiscal year 2000 on-budget surplus toward
debt reduction. The amendment passed by an overwhelming 95-3 and
committed Congress to designate the on-budget surpluses to reduce the
national debt, keeping these funds from being used for additional
Government spending. Our amendment provided the mechanism to assure
that Congress would begin the serious task of paying down the debt.
Further, this past April, Senator Feingold, Senator Gregg, and I
offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2002 budget designed to tighten
enforcement of existing spending controls. Our amendment created an
explicit point of order against directed scoring and abuses of
emergency spending.
Even with all the amendments I proposed and cosponsored to bring
Federal spending under control, I have never lost sight of the fact
that we need to enact a Social Security lockbox. Make no mistake,
adopting a Social Security lockbox is not about Social Security
benefits. Social Security beneficiaries will not know the difference if
we pass or do not pass a Social Security lockbox. What we are doing
today will not have an impact at all on the beneficiaries. The
amendment I am offering today will permanently lockbox the Social
Security surplus and prevent it from being used for any other purpose.
For decades, the Social Security surplus was used by Congress after
Congress and President after President to offset Federal spending. For
many of those years, Members of both the House and Senate worked to put
the Social Security surplus off limits from being used for such Federal
spending. We talked a lot about it. In 1999, after years of wrangling,
in a landmark budget agreement passed in 1995, the Federal Government
finally achieved a balanced budget. With this good news, it became
apparent that Congress and the President would not need to use the
Social Security surplus for spending. This was made possible by our
economic prosperity which guaranteed and generated a huge increase in
tax revenues, which we know about, and in turn a massive on-budget
surplus. Because the United States was running in the black for the
first time in recent memory, Social Security surpluses were used to pay
down the national debt instead of being used for spending. Indeed,
since 1999, there has been a political consensus not to return to
spending that surplus.
However, the economic prosperity this Nation enjoyed as recently as
months ago is fading, although I hope this is only a temporary
situation. Surplus projections are likely to be revised downward. Yet
Congressional yearning for more spending has not abated.
For fiscal year 2001, Congress, with the encouragement of the Clinton
administration, increased nondefense discretionary spending 14.3
percent. That is something people have not taken into consideration.
Nondefense discretionary spending in the last budget was 14.3 percent
above the year before and increased overall spending by 8 percent,
which was way above inflation. All of this was on top of large
increases in the previous years' budgets.
If we fund the education bill that the Senate recently passed, which
increases spending by 62 percent or $14 billion, and if we spend the
$18.4 billion increase in defense spending that the administration is
talking about, we could end up spending a portion of the on-budget
surplus of fiscal year 2003 and beyond. Part of the reason for this is
the fact that the tax reduction was more front-end loaded than the
President had originally planned.
Frankly, if the economy really falters, we could bump up against the
Social Security trust fund next year. Nearly everyone in this Chamber
agrees we should not spend that surplus, and the public has grown to
expect that Congress won't return to spending it. This year's budget
resolution was designed in part to avoid spending that surplus.
At the moment, we are de facto lockboxing Social Security. Therefore,
it makes perfect sense to take the next step and lockbox these funds
permanently. It is the best possible action we could take to bring
fiscal discipline to the 107th Congress.
On the one hand, it guarantees we don't touch Social Security, and on
the other it ensures we will continue to pay down debt, which fulfills
the commitment we have all made and which will give us the interest
savings. It is a two-for: We won't spend it; second, it will allow us
to continue to pay down the national debt substantially. That is part
of what I refer to as the three-legged stool. That three-legged stool
in terms of my support for the budget resolution was: Hold spending
down, reduce debt, and reduce taxes. But all three of them have to be
present. We have to preserve that one stool of reducing the national
debt.
If my colleagues think back to the 1980s, they will remember the
dramatic increase in the national debt, primarily because of the use of
the Social Security surplus. I was here. I was president of the
National League of Cities. I came to this Congress before the Finance
Committee and supported the Republican proposal to limit spending in
1985. What we saw happen during that period of time was that taxes were
reduced and spending went up. Republicans wanted to spend on defense,
the Democrats wanted to spend on social programs, and the way they paid
for it was to use the Social Security surplus.
I don't want that to happen while I am a Member of the Senate. I
don't think any of my other colleagues want that to happen again.
The 1999 budget was the first time in over three decades that
Congress did
[[Page S7318]]
not use Social Security to pay for Federal spending. Again, in 2000,
Congress did not use Social Security spending, although I must say it
was hand-to-hand combat to make sure it wasn't used. There was direct
scoring, there was emergency spending, and all kinds of other gimmicks
because CBO had said we were spending the Social Security surplus, and
the only thing that saved us was we got back here in January and CBO
came out with new projections and said the budget surplus was more than
what we had originally anticipated it to be.
Although the economy is not as robust as it was a year ago, we must
resist the temptation to fall off the wagon of fiscal responsibility
and resist the urge to resume spending that Social Security trust fund.
The amendment we are offering guarantees we will not fall off the
wagon. It contains two enforcement mechanisms: A supermajority point of
order written in statute and automatic across-the-board spending cuts.
Our amendment creates a statutory point of order against any bill,
amendment, or resolution that would spend the Social Security surplus
any of the next 10 years. Waiving the point of order would require the
votes of 60 Senators. In addition, if the Social Security surplus were
spent, the Office of Management and Budget would impose automatic
across-the-board cuts in discretionary and mandatory spending to reduce
the amount of the surplus that was spent.
We are talking about mandatory spending; we are talking about the
fact that it will exempt Social Security and those things that are
contained in the Deficit Control Act of 1985. My understanding is that
is about $33 billion that would be subject to sequester or reduction.
This amendment will only trigger the automatic reduction if spending
of the surplus exceeds one-half of 1 percent of the total outlay
expenditure. In other words, it is not going to be one of those things
that will happen automatically. It has a provision that says, if it is
shown you have spent over one-half of 1 percent of the Social Security
surplus, then the trigger will go into effect.
That is because we are talking about a $2 trillion budget and I think
there ought to be some kind of flexibility in the amendment. I think,
frankly, it is something that is intellectually honest to do. The only
exceptions to the lockbox would be a state of war as declared by
Congress or a recession defined as two successive quarters of negative
economic growth.
For the past 2\1/2\ years I have fought to make sure we in the Senate
hold ourselves accountable for the spending decisions that we make.
Thus far, our spending choices, whether I have agreed with them or not,
have involved on-budget surplus dollars. But I believe we need to
prepare to protect Social Security funds from being used for even more
spending, should our budget surplus fade. That is what will happen. If
we keep this spending up, and then the surplus isn't there, there is
going to be a great temptation for this body to invade the Social
Security surplus.
Some of my colleagues in the Senate might argue we do not need a
separate law establishing a Social Security lockbox since it already
exists in the budget. Some of my colleagues might also swear that we
would never return to the days when the Social Security trust fund was
used as the Government's private piggy bank. Invariably we are told to
have faith that this institution called Congress will do the right
thing when it comes to spending.
I am a firm believer in Ronald Reagan's philosophy: Trust but verify.
In my view, a permanent statutory Social Security lockbox is the best
way to verify that the Social Security surplus remains untouched by
those who would spend it. It would also force Congress to fiscal
discipline and to make the hard choices in prioritizing our spending
with the funds that we have today at our disposal.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this amendment.
Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. VOINOVICH. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. BYRD. Did the distinguished Senator from Ohio offer his
amendment?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, he offered his amendment.
Amendment No. 866 to Amendment No. 865
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Conrad, I offer an
amendment authored by Mr. Conrad to be an amendment in the second
degree to the amendment offered by Mr. Voinovich.
I ask unanimous consent that after the clerk states the title of this
amendment, that it and the amendment in the first degree be temporarily
laid aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
The clerk will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. Byrd] for Mr. Conrad,
proposes amendment numbered 866 to amendment No. 865.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To establish an off-budget lockbox to strengthen Social
Security and Medicare)
Strike all after the first word and insert the following:
TITLE ____--SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE OFF-BUDGET LOCKBOX ACT OF 2001
SEC. ____01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Social Security and
Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001''.
SEC. ____02. STRENGTHENING SOCIAL SECURITY POINTS OF ORDER.
(a) In General.--Section 312 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643) is amended by inserting at the end
the following:
``(g) Strengthening Social Security Point of Order.--It
shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the
Senate to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget (or
any amendment thereto or conference report thereon) or any
bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
report that would violate or amend section 13301 of the
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.''.
(b) Super Majority Requirement.--
(1) Point of order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after
``310(d)(2),''.
(2) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(g),'' after
``310(d)(2),''.
(c) Enforcement in Each Fiscal Year.--The Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended in--
(1) section 301(a)(7) (2 U.S.C. 632(a)(7)), by striking
``for the fiscal year'' through the period and inserting
``for each fiscal year covered by the resolution''; and
(2) section 311(a)(3) (2 U.S.C. 642(a)(3)), by striking
beginning with ``for the first fiscal year'' through the
period and insert the following: ``for any of the fiscal
years covered by the concurrent resolution.''.
SEC. ____03. MEDICARE TRUST FUND OFF-BUDGET.
(a) In General.--
(1) General exclusion from all budgets.--Title III of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``exclusion of medicare trust fund from all budgets
``Sec. 316. (a) Exclusion of Medicare Trust Fund From All
Budgets.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
receipts and disbursements of the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget authority,
outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of--
``(1) the budget of the United States Government as
submitted by the President;
``(2) the congressional budget; or
``(3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act
of 1985.
``(b) Strengthening Medicare Point of Order.--It shall not
be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to
consider a concurrent resolution on the budget (or any
amendment thereto or conference report thereon) or any bill,
joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report
that would violate or amend this section.''.
(2) Super majority requirement.--
(A) Point of Order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``316,'' after
``313,''.
(B) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``316,'' after ``313,''.
(b) Exclusion of Medicare Trust Fund From Congressional
Budget.--Section 301(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 (2 U.S.C. 632(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``The concurrent resolution shall not include the
outlays and revenue totals of the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund in the surplus or deficit totals required by this
subsection or in any other surplus or deficit totals required
by this title.''
(c) Budget Totals.--Section 301(a) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 632(a)) is amended by inserting
after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) For purposes of Senate enforcement under this title,
revenues and outlays of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund for
[[Page S7319]]
each fiscal year covered by the budget resolution.''.
(d) Budget resolutions.--Section 301(i) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 632(i)) is amended
by--
(1) striking ``Social Security Point of Order.--It shall''
and inserting ``Social Security and Medicare Points of
Order.--
``(1) Social security.--It shall''; and
(2) inserting at the end the following:
``(2) Medicare.--It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider any concurrent
resolution on the budget (or amendment, motion, or conference
report on the resolution) that would cause a decrease in
surpluses or an increase in deficits of the Federal Hospital
Insurance Trust Fund in any of the fiscal years covered by
the concurrent resolution.''.
(e) Medicare Firewall.--Section 311(a) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 642(a)) is amended by adding
after paragraph (3), the following:
``(4) Enforcement of medicare levels in the senate.--After
a concurrent resolution on the budget is agreed to, it shall
not be in order in the Senate to consider any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that
would cause a decrease in surpluses or an increase in
deficits of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund in any
year relative to the levels set forth in the applicable
resolution.''.
(f) Baseline to Exclude Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.--
Section 257(b)(3) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by striking ``shall be
included in all'' and inserting ``shall not be included in
any''.
(g) Medicare Trust Fund Exempt From Sequesters.--Section
255(g)(1)(B) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Medicare as funded through the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund.''.
(h) Budgetary Treatment of Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.--
Section 710(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 911(a))
is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' the second place it appears and
inserting a comma; and
(2) by inserting after ``Federal Disability Insurance Trust
Fund'' the following: ``, Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund''.
SEC. ____04. PREVENTING ON-BUDGET DEFICITS.
(a) Points of Order To Prevent On-Budget Deficits.--Section
312 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Points of Order To Prevent On-Budget Deficits.--
``(1) Concurrent resolutions on the budget.--It shall not
be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to
consider any concurrent resolution on the budget, or
conference report thereon or amendment thereto, that would
cause or increase an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year.
``(2) Subsequent legislation.--It shall not be in order in
the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any
bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
report if--
``(A) the enactment of that bill or resolution as reported;
``(B) the adoption and enactment of that amendment; or
``(C) the enactment of that bill or resolution in the form
recommended in that conference report, would cause or
increase an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year.''.
(b) Super Majority Requirement.--
(1) Point of Order.--Section 904(c)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(h),'' after
``312(g),''.
(2) Waiver.--Section 904(d)(2) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by inserting ``312(h),'' after
``312(g),''.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendments are laid aside. The Senator
from North Dakota.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, very briefly, I thank Senator Byrd for
introducing my amendment in the second degree to the amendment of the
Senator from Ohio, and indicate to my colleagues the nature of the
amendment. I think the Senator from Ohio is going in basically the
right direction, but I do not think he is protecting both of the trust
funds. I have offered, in the second degree, my amendment that would
protect both the Social Security trust fund and the Medicare trust fund
because I think both deserve protection. I think both are in danger.
Unfortunately, as I said several moments ago with respect to where we
find ourselves, after the budget resolution is passed, after the tax
cut is passed, and with the anticipated reduction in the revenue
forecast because of the slowdown in the economy, we see we are headed
for being into the Medicare trust fund this year, the Medicare and
Social Security trust fund next year and for all the years that follow.
That is before any appropriations have passed. That is before the
President's major request for additional defense spending.
We are already in trouble. We are already headed for raiding the
trust funds of Medicare and Social Security. So I am glad the Senator
from Ohio has sent up an amendment. I have provided an amendment in the
second degree that I think is stronger and provides additional
protection and acknowledges that we have a responsibility not just to
the Social Security trust fund but to the Medicare trust fund as well.
Amendment No. 867
Mr. CONRAD. If I could at this moment, on a separate matter, I send
an amendment to the desk to the underlying bill. This amendment is to
provide emergency funding for a situation we have just encountered on
one of the Indian reservations in my State, the Turtle Mountain Indian
Reservation. It is offset so it does not add to the overall cost of the
supplemental. But we have found a situation that is extraordinarily
serious on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
Very briefly, I will just describe that and then end so my colleague
from Missouri, who is seeking recognition, can gain the floor.
Over 200 homes on the Turtle Mountain Reservation are infested with
black mold; 40 percent of them that have been tested have the worst
kind of black mold. This is throughout the structures. It is in the
basements. It is running up the studs, in the ceilings, in the
insulation. People in these homes are sick. We have had two infants
die. People who are in the families and medical experts on the
reservations believe their deaths are related to the conditions in
these homes.
It is because of extraordinarily wet conditions in that part of our
State. We have had 7 years of wet conditions. It is as though these
houses are in a sponge and the sponge is full and the houses are
wicking up the surface water. In fact, if you look in the crawl spaces
of these homes, they are filled with water and that water has found its
way up through the entire structure and has created the perfect
environment for this black mold growth.
We have had the CDC there, the Corps of Engineers, and FEMA. It is a
crisis situation that requires emergency housing for some 200 families.
The tribal chairman told me he is about to move people into a school
gymnasium because the conditions in these homes are so bad.
I went there personally over the break. I can testify it is the worst
situation I have seen, and I have dealt with black mold in our own home
here in Washington, DC, in just one small area, where seven times our
home flooded because the city sewer system could not handle torrential
downpours here. We are the low spot on the block. It cost me $4,000 and
three contractors to fix just a small part of one corner of our house.
These are houses that have it throughout. The basements are loaded
with black mold. It is in the studding. In fact you can see it in the
beams across the ceilings of these homes.
In every home we went into, people testified to the illnesses. In
fact, the tribal chairman himself is ill from these circumstances.
This is an emergency situation that simply must be addressed.
Obviously, the committee could not have known about it because nobody
knew about it. But I offer that amendment for that purpose, and I thank
my colleagues.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
Mr. STEVENS addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will suspend until the clerk
reports the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Conrad] proposes an
amendment numbered 867.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent these amendments
not be read. They are being offered for purposes of qualification under
the time agreement, and I ask that apply to all amendments, unless
Senators wish to make their statements.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To provide funds for emergency housing on the Turtle Mountain
Indian Reservation)
On page 47, between lines 20 and 21, insert the following:
Community Development Block Grants
For emergency housing for Indians on the Turtle Mountain
Indian Reservation, there shall be made available $10,000,000
through the Indian community development block
[[Page S7320]]
grant program under the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974. Amounts made available for programs administered by
the Department of Housing and Urban Development for fiscal
year 2001 shall be reduced on a pro rata basis by
$10,000,000. The Federal Emergency Management Agency shall
provide technical assistance to Indians with respect to the
acquisition of emergency housing on the Turtle Mountain
Indian Reservation.
Amendments No. 868 And No. 869, En Bloc
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator McCain, I send two
amendments to the desk and ask they be qualified under the time
agreement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendments.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Stevens] for Mr. McCain,
proposes amendments numbered 868 and 869, en bloc.
The amendments are as follows:
AMENDMENT NO. 868
(Purpose: To increase amounts appropriated to the Department of
Defense)
On page 11, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:
Sec. 1207. In addition to the amounts appropriated to the
Department of Defense for fiscal year 2001 in other
provisions of this Act or in the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-259), $2,736,100 is
hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, to the Department of Defense for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, for purposes under
headings in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act,
2001, and in amounts, as follows:
``Military Personnel, Army'', $30,000,000;
``Military Personnel, Navy'', $10,000,000;
``Military Personnel, Air Force'', $332,500,000;
``Reserve Personnel, Army'', $30,000,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Army'', $916,400,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Navy'', $514,500,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Marine Corps'', $295,700,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Air Force'', $59,600,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide'', $9,000,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Army Reserve'', $30,000,000;
``Operation and Maintenance, Army National Guard'',
$106,000,000;
``Aircraft Procurement, Army'', $50,000,000, to remain
available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
``Procurement of Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles,
Army'', $10,000,000, to remain available for obligation until
September 30, 2003;
``Procurement of Ammunition, Army'', $14,000,000, to remain
available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
``Other Procurement, Army'', $40,000,000, to remain
available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
``Aircraft Procurement, Navy'', $65,000,000, to remain
available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
``Aircraft Procurement, Air Force'', $108,100,000, to
remain available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
``Other Procurement, Air Force'', $33,300,000, to remain
available for obligation until September 30, 2003;
``Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force'',
$8,000,000, to remain available for obligation until
September 30, 2002; and
``USS Cole'', $49,000,000;
Provided, That the entire amount made available in this
section is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended:
Provided, further, That the entire amount under this section
shall be available only to the extent that an official budget
request for that specific dollar amount that includes the
designation of the entire amount of the request as an
emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, is
transmitted by the President to the Congress.
____
AMENDMENT NO. 869
(Purpose: To provide additional funds for military personnel, working-
capital funds, mission-critical maintenance, force protection, and
other purposes by increasing amounts appropriated to the Department of
Defense, and to offset the increases by reducing and rescinding certain
appropriations)
After section 3002, insert the following:
Sec. 3003. (a) In addition to the amounts appropriated to
the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2001 by other
provisions of this Act or the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-259), funds are
hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, to the Department of Defense for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, for purposes under
headings in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act,
2001, and in amounts, as follows:
(1) Under the heading ``Military Personnel, Navy'',
$181,000,000, of which $1,000,000 shall be available for the
supplemental subsistence allowance under section 402a of
title 37, United States Code.
(2) Under the heading ``Military Personnel, Marine Corps'',
$21,000,000.
(3) Under the heading ``Reserve Personnel, Navy'',
$1,800,000, which shall be available for enhancement of force
protection for United States forces in the Persian Gulf
region and elsewhere worldwide.
(4) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army'',
$103,000,000.
(5) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy'',
$72,000,000, of which $36,000,000 shall be available for
enhancement of force protection for United States forces in
the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere worldwide.
(6) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Marine
Corps'', $6,000,000.
(7) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Air
Force'', $397,000,000.
(8) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army
Reserve'', $21,000,000.
(9) Under the heading ``Other Procurement, Navy'',
$45,000,000, to remain available for obligation until
September 30, 2003, which shall be available for enhancement
of force protection for United States forces in the Persian
Gulf region and elsewhere worldwide.
(b) The amount appropriated by chapter 10 of title II to
the Department of the Treasury for Departmental Offices under
the heading ``Salaries and Expenses'' is hereby reduced by
$30,000,000.
(c) The matter in chapter 11 of title II under the heading
``National Aeronautics and Space Administration human space
flight'' shall not take effect.
(rescission)
(d) Of the unobligated balance of the total amount in the
Treasury that is to be disbursed from special accounts
established pursuant to section 754(e) of the Tariff Act of
1930, $200,000,000 may not be disbursed under that section.
(rescissions)
(e) The following amounts are hereby rescinded:
(1) Of the funds appropriated to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration under the heading ``human space
flight'' in the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing
and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law
106-377), the following amounts:
(A) From the amounts for the life and micro-gravity science
mission for the human space flight, $40,000,000.
(B) From the amount for the Electric Auxiliary Power Units
for Space Shuttle Safety Upgrades, $19,000,000.
(2) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce
for the National Institute of Standards and Technology under
the heading ``industrial technology services'' in the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted
into law by Public Law 106-553), $67,000,000 for the Advanced
Technology Program.
(3) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce
for the International Trade Administration under the heading
``operations and administration'', $19,000,000 of the amount
available for Trade Development.
(4) Of the funds appropriated by chapter 1 of the Emergency
Steel Loan Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed
Loan Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-51, $126,800,000.
(5) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of
Transportation for the Maritime Administration under the
heading ``maritime guaranteed loan (title xi) program
account'' in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State,
the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001
(as enacted into law by Public Law 106-553), $21,000,000.
(6) Of the funds appropriated for the Export-Import Bank
under the heading ``subsidy appropriation'' in the Foreign
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law
106-429), $80,000,000.
(7) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Labor
for the Employment and Training Administration under the
heading ``Training and Employment Services'' in the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as
enacted into law by Public Law 106-554), the following
amounts:
(A) From the amounts for Dislocated Worker Employment and
Training Activities, $41,500,000.
(B) From the amounts Adult Employment and Training
Activities, $100,000,000.
(8) Of the unobligated balance of funds previously
appropriated to the Department of Transportation for the
Federal Transit Administration that remain available for
obligation in fiscal year 2001, the following amounts:
(A) From the amounts for Transit Planning and Research,
$34,000,000.
(B) From the amounts for Job Access and Reverse Commute
Grants, $76,000,000.
Amendment No. 870
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for the
Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Hutchinson, and ask that it be qualified.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The pending amendment is laid aside.
The clerk will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
[[Page S7321]]
The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Stevens] proposes an amendment
numbered 870.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To provide additional amounts to repair damage caused by ice
storms in the States of Arkansas and Oklahoma)
On page 13, between lines 23 and 24, insert the following:
Forest Service
State and Private Forestry
For an additional amount for ``State and Private Forestry''
to repair damage caused by ice storms in the States of
Arkansas and Oklahoma, $10,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That the entire amount is designated by
Congress as an emergency requirement under section
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).
National Forest System
For an additional amount for the ``National Forest System''
to repair damage caused by ice storms in the States of
Arkansas and Oklahoma, $10,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That the entire amount is designated by
Congress as an emergency requirement under section
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).
Capital Improvement and Maintenance
For an additional amount for ``Capital Improvement and
Maintenance'' to repair damage caused by ice storms in the
States of Arkansas and Oklahoma, $4,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That the entire amount is
designated by Congress as an emergency requirement under
section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).
Amendment No. 871
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for the
Senator from Idaho, Mr. Craig, and ask that it be qualified.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The pending amendment is laid aside.
The clerk will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Stevens], for Mr. Craig,
proposes an amendment numbered 871.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: Regarding the proportionality of the level of non-military
exports purchased by Israel to the amount of United States cash
transfer assistance for Israel)
On page 29, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:
Sec. 2502. In exercising the authority to provide cash
transfer assistance for Israel for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2001, the President shall--
(1) ensure that the level of such assistance does not cause
an adverse impact on the total level of non-military exports
from the United States to Israel; and
(2) enter into a side letter agreement with Israel
providing for the purchase of grain in the same amount and in
accordance with terms at least as favorable as the side
letter agreement in effect for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2000.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank the Chair, and I thank my
distinguished colleague, the manager of the bill.
I have two matters which I wish to address today.
First, I say to my colleague from North Dakota that we are very
concerned about the situation he described. And, with the chairman of
the VA-HUD subcommittee, we will look into this serious problem he has
outlined. We thank him and commend him for bringing it to the attention
of this body.
I have two measures.
First, I don't believe there is a Member of this body who has
waterways in his or her State who doesn't understand the importance of
the work done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Within the beltway,
however, items such as flood control and river transportation are
viewed as some sort of luxury we can do without. We can't do without
them. I have been there. I have seen the devastation and the
heartbreak. I have seen the families in great crisis. I have seen the
farms and the homes and the communities destroyed. Unless you have been
there, you cannot really appreciate it.
Clearly, the view in some eastern editorial boardrooms is rather
clouded, and elite drawing rooms can't see that there are people who
live and work along and depend upon the river. These are the people
about whom we should be concerned.
I invite those who can tell us how to manage the rivers to come out
and take a look at our rivers sometime. They might be very surprised at
what they find.
In the State of Missouri, we have nearly 1,000 miles of land
bordering the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Water transportation is
low cost, safe, fuel efficient, and provides an insurance policy
against runaway shipping costs charged by railroads that otherwise
would face no competition. The environmental community assumes that
monopolists don't raise prices. They do. But on the environmental side,
to put the benefits of water transportation in perspective, One medium-
sized 15-barge tow carries the same amount of grain as 870 tractor
trailor trucks. Clearly, this comparison demonstrates the fuel
efficiency and clean air benefits to the environment. It also reduces
congestion, reduces highway wear and tear, improves safety, and costs
less.
In Missouri, one-third of our agricultural production comes from the
100-year-flood plain. The Washington Post, that still believes food
comes from the grocery store and not the farm, believes that this land
should not be in production and flood protection should be a low
priority.
Those who criticize the projects administered by the Corps typically
do it from a safe distance. One of the biggest critics of the Corps in
the Midwest sits safely behind a 500-year urban flood wall.
Policymakers in Washington stress exports and jobs but many fail to
make the connection between exports and the transportation necessary to
export. Unless we have purged the laws of physics and unless there are
strange new business practices which don't require buyers to take
delivery of sold goods, then transportation ultimately remains
necessary.
Policymakers in Washington stress the need for additional power
production that is good for the environment but propose inadequate
budgets and policies for hydropower generation.
In the last Administration, policy and budgets to undermine the Corps
where almost an annual event. Regrettably, the most recent budget
proposed for fiscal year 2002 shows no recognition of how important the
mission of the Corps is. I have a flood control project in Kansas City
that will protect industries employing 12,000 people. The budget
request for 2002 asks for enough money to keep the contractors busy for
a fraction of the year. So not only is the project delayed, and not
only does delay subject the citizens to prolonged flood risk
unnecessarily, but the delay increases the cost of the project which I
would expect the number-crunchers at OMB to find compelling if nothing
else gets their attention.
Regrettably, the supplemental request does not include one red cent
for operations and maintenance for the Corps of Engineers
notwithstanding flood control, navigation, hydropower generation and
environmental needs resulting from Midwestern flooding on the upper
Mississippi, a Pacific earthquake which occurred in February, Tropical
Storm Allison which occurred weeks ago as well as remaining problems
associated with Hurricane Floyd and ice storms in the South.
Specifically, there are needs estimated to be: $50 million in
response to the Midwest flooding; $47 million in the Southwest impacted
by ice storms; $37 million for the Atlantic Seaboard in response to
Hurricane Floyd and other weather events; $59 million for the Pacific
Northwest to repair earthquake damage, stabilize hydropower facilities
and correct major environmental deficiencies; and $30 million in
response to the tropical storm which occurred early this month that
affected Galveston and the New Orleans District.
My office has made inquiries at several districts that serve Missouri
and have learned that they expect to be out of O&M funds to dredge the
Mississippi River in a matter of weeks, which will risk the execution
of water commerce on the nation's most important waterway.
When weather events occur, sediments build up, damage is done to
levees and engineering structures such as wing dikes making repairs
necessary and resources to dredge our ports and rivers necessary.
The House recognized this omission and included an additional $130
million for O&M for the Corps. Their markup occurred before there was
any idea of what Allison had left behind.
[[Page S7322]]
I do not want to have to wait for economic decline, either regional
or national, to try to make the case that we cannot continue to take
our factors of production for granted. The growing estrangement of some
decisionmakers and the media from the history and reality behind food,
energy, and natural resource production in this country must be
corrected. It will either be corrected ahead of a crisis or in response
to a crisis. We have a strong economy for a reason and if we do not
take care of our infrastructure, we will go into economic decline for a
reason.
While we are undermining our infrastructure, competing nations are
updating theirs. How many states have to have their lights turned out
before we consider how are factories are powered, how our trucks are
fueled and how our homes are heated? I regret that the need for
efficient transportation, energy, and protection of people and property
is a case that must be made but we can take action now for a fraction
of what neglect, inaction and apathy will cost us later.
I know there is a bipartisan recognition that our water
infrastructure is growing old and not serving the American people
adequately. While there has always been bipartisan support for the
mission of the Corps, I fear that the budgets do not match the need.
Over the last two years Corps projects have experienced a series of
weather-related events that have left much of our water resources
infrastructure in an alarming state of disrepair. In the most severe
cases, temporary repairs were made to correct immediate hazards to
public health and safety, while other work still awaits adequate
funding. Harbor channels have lost sufficient depth and width for safe
navigation, rivers are choked with debris, embankments are dangerously
eroded, power outages are more frequent, and environmental preservation
measures are short-changed. Unless the Corps receives supplemental
funding, many navigation channels will not be able to accommodate
normal commercial flow and flood control projects will be in serious
jeopardy of failure. Recent damages and deterioration of hydroelectric
facilities coupled with the national energy crisis have underscored the
urgent need to undertake necessary repairs to hydropower projects in
the Pacific Northwest.
While I will withhold offering an amendment at this time, I will do
what I can do in conference to urge conferees to accept the House
correction of the omission.
I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, my second item deals with the defense
budget.
While the administration's request for a supplemental appropriations
bill for the Department of Defense includes what the administration
believes is the minimum needed to get by for the remainder of this
fiscal year (01), I respectfully disagree with their definition of
``minimum.''
Although we are hearing promises of an amended '02 budget with a huge
defense plus-up, it is clear that the Defense Department appropriations
bill for 2002 may indeed be the last of the 13 appropriations bills we
will consider this year. That unfortunate timing may threaten the
availability of all the extra funds many believe the Pentagon
desperately needs. Simply put, there is no guarantee that the money the
Pentagon needs will be there when the Senate takes up the amended
Defense appropriation bill for 2002.
We must stop kicking the can down the road with promises to our
forces--their need is urgent, they need help now. The problem will only
continue to worsen, we need to act now.
Just last week, the Navy's top officer, Admiral Vern Clark, said he
is trying to rid the United States Navy of the ``psychology of
deficiency''--the acceptance of sustained resource shortages as a
normal condition.
Sadly, Mr. President, this ``psychology of deficiency'' has not only
infected the culture of our Armed Forces, but I am afraid it has become
the culture.
The vast majority of the enlisted troops and officers on active duty
today know only a culture of getting by on the minimum funding
possible. They call it ``doing more with less,'' but the reality has
been for almost a decade now, one of ``doing too much with too
little.''
That is simply unacceptable. Every day, soldiers, sailors, airmen and
marines risk their very lives for the values that have made this
country the more powerful beacon of freedom the world has every known.
And in exchange for their lives, what do we do? We give them barely
enough money to accomplish their mission safely. The bare minimum and
no more. That is how we repay our troops? No wonder our Armed Forces
have suffered from a persistent morale problem that has manifested
itself in a chronic inability to hold onto large numbers of our most
talented troops.
The ``bare minimum'' of funding is no way for our society to uphold
our end of the social contract with our troops. That is not how we keep
faith with those who defend our Nation's interests at their own
personal risk.
How badly have we fallen short on our end of the social contract?
At the current level of funding, it will take 160 years to replace
the Navy's shore infrastructure. The backlog of maintenance and repair
exceeds $5.5 billion.
Recently the Marine Corps Commandant spoke about the terrible funding
choices we force him to make. In order to keep marines ready for combat
in case war breaks out in the near-term, the Commandant has to steal
money from accounts dedicated to modernizing the Marine Corps for
tomorrow's wars. If this persists, the Marine Corps may find itself on
a battlefield in the future without the proper, modern equipment to
help guarantee a quick victory with few U.S. casualties.
Even with the supplemental, the Army does not have the $145.1 million
it needs to run its specialty training and schools. That means
thousands of soldiers may not qualify in their combat specialties,
which directly affects the combat readiness of Army units. When we tell
our soldiers ``sorry, we don't have enough money to train you properly
to do your job,'' what do you think the effect is on morale? The impact
is devastating. That is what each of our services has had so much
difficulty holding onto: Retaining its most skilled workers.
Our U.S. Air Force is currently operating and maintaining the oldest
fleet in our history. On average, our aircraft are about 22 years old
and getting older. An aging fleet costs more, both in effort and
dollars, to operate and maintain.
Last year, while we flew only 97 percent of our programmed flying
hours, doing so cost us 103 percent of our budget. Over the past 5
years, our costs per flying hour have risen almost 50 percent. That is
a terrible cycle: Older planes cost more to maintain, which robs money
from accounts to buy new planes, and so on. It is a death spiral for
our Air Force.
Time and again history has shown us the folly of funding our troops
as if peace will persist forever, as if war will never come. I thought
this country learned that lesson in the opening days of the Korean war
when Americans were caught unprepared, underequipped, and undertrained,
and many paid with their lives.
I know the President of the United States knows this. I know
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld knows this. These are good men who know
it is time to get the U.S. military on a more solid footing. I have
worked closely with them in the past. I will continue to work with
them. They will find me to be their most loyal supporter in this
effort. But we can no longer afford to wait. We must act now.
That is why I am rising today to offer an amendment to add $1.45
billion to the fiscal year 2001 supplemental appropriations for the
Defense Department. The amendment seeks to add the funds to the Defense
Department that are needed, and can be spent, in what remains of the
fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.
The amendment includes funds that will be directed exclusively to the
operations and maintenance accounts of each of the four services. This
is money the Pentagon needs right now to ensure that critical repairs
and training are not delayed further.
There are emergency designations in this measure. All the money
appropriated must be obligated by September 30 of this year. And the
money shall be available only to the extent
[[Page S7323]]
that an official budget request for that specific dollar amount
includes the designation of the entire amount of the request as an
emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, and is transmitted by the
President to the Congress. We must begin to tell our troops that indeed
help is on the way, that this is the time to send the help.
Amendment No. 872
Mr. President, I send the amendment to the desk and ask unanimous
consent that it be included in the qualified list of amendments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Missouri [Mr. Bond] proposes an amendment
numbered 872.
Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be
dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To increase amounts appropriated for the Department of
Defense)
At the end of title III, add the following:
Sec. . (a) In addition to the amounts appropriated to the
Department of Defense for fiscal year 2001 by other
provisions of this Act or the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-259), funds are
hereby appropriated to the Department of Defense for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, for purposes under
headings in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act,
2001, and in amounts, as follows:
(1) Under the heading ``Military Personnel, Marine Corps'',
$21,000,000.
(2) Under the heading ``Reserve Personnel, Army'',
$30,000,000.
(3) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army'',
$600,000,000.
(4) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy'',
$577,250,000.
(5) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Marine
Corps'', $6,000,000.
(6) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Air
Force'', $100,200,000.
(7) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army
Reserve'', $30,000,000.
(8) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Navy
Reserve'', $19,100,000.
(9) Under the heading ``Operation and Maintenance, Army
National Guard'', $39,400,000.
(b) The total amount appropriated under subsection (a)
shall be available only to the extent that an official budget
request for that specific dollar amount that includes the
designation of the entire amount of the request as an
emergency requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, is
transmitted by the President to the Congress.
(c) The total amount appropriated under subsection (a) is
hereby designated by Congress as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
(d) All of the funds appropriated and available under this
section shall be obligated not later than September 30, 2001.
Mr. BOND. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
Amendment No. 873
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for Senator
Hollings under my name under the authorized list.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Hollings,
proposes an amendment numbered 873.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: Ensuring funding for defense and education and the
supplemental appropriation by repealing tax cuts for 2001)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
____. ENSURING FUNDING FOR DEFENSE AND EDUCATION AND THE
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION BY REPEALING TAX
CUTS FOR 2001.
(a) Repeal.--
(1) In general.--Section 101 of the Economic Growth and Tax
Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 is repealed.
(2) Application of code.--The Internal Revenue Code of 1986
shall be applied and administered as if such section 101 (and
the amendments made by such section) had never been enacted.
(3) Conforming amendments.--
(A) In general.--Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to tax imposed) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(i) Rate Reductions After 2001.--
``(1) 10-percent rate bracket.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of taxable years beginning
after December 31, 2001--
``(i) the rate of tax under subsections (a), (b), (c), and
(d) on taxable income not over the initial bracket amount
shall be 10 percent, and
``(ii) the 15 percent rate of tax shall apply only to
taxable income over the initial bracket amount but not over
the maximum dollar amount for the 15-percent rate bracket.
``(B) Initial bracket amount.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the initial bracket amount is--
``(i) $14,000 ($12,000 in the case of taxable years
beginning before January 1, 2008) in the case of subsection
(a),
``(ii) $10,000 in the case of subsection (b), and
``(iii) \1/2\ the amount applicable under clause (i) (after
adjustment, if any, under subparagraph (C)) in the case of
subsections (c) and (d).
``(C) Inflation adjustment.--In prescribing the tables
under subsection (f ) which apply with respect to taxable
years beginning in calendar years after 2001--
``(i) the Secretary shall make no adjustment to the initial
bracket amount for any taxable year beginning before January
1, 2009,
``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment used in making
adjustments to the initial bracket amount for any taxable
year beginning after December 31, 2008, shall be determined
under subsection (f )(3) by substituting `2007' for `1992' in
subparagraph (B) thereof, and
``(iii) such adjustment shall not apply to the amount
referred to in subparagraph (B)(iii).
If any amount after adjustment under the preceding sentence
is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall be rounded to the
next lowest multiple of $50.
``(2) Reductions in rates after december 31, 2001.--In the
case of taxable years beginning in a calendar year after
2001, the corresponding percentage specified for such
calendar year in the following table shall be substituted for
the otherwise applicable tax rate in the tables under
subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The corresponding percentages
shall be substituted for the
``In the case of taxable years following percentages:
beginning during calendar year: -----------------------------------
28% 31% 36% 39.6%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 and 2003....................... 27.0% 30.0% 35.0% 38.6%
2004 and 2005....................... 26.0% 29.0% 34.0% 37.6%
2006 and thereafter................. 25.0% 28.0% 33.0% 35.0%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(3) Adjustment of tables.--The Secretary shall adjust the
tables prescribed under subsection (f ) to carry out this
subsection.''.
(B) Conforming amendments.--
(i) Subparagraph (B) of section 1(g)(7) of such Code is
amended by striking ``15 percent'' in clause (ii)(II) and
inserting ``10 percent.''.
(ii) Section 1(h) of such Code is amended--
(I) by striking ``28 percent'' both places it appears in
paragraphs (1)(A)(ii)(I) and (1)(B)(i) and inserting ``25
percent'', and
(II) by striking paragraph (13).
(iii) Section 531 of such Code is amended by striking
``equal to'' and all that follows and inserting ``equal to
the product of the highest rate of tax under section 1(c) and
the accumulated taxable income.''.
(iv) Section 541 of such Code is amended by striking
``equal to'' and all that follows and inserting ``equal to
the product of the highest rate of tax under section 1(c) and
the undistributed personal holding company income.''.
(v) Section 3402(p)(1)(B) of such Code is amended by
striking ``7, 15, 28, or 31 percent'' and inserting ``7
percent, any percentage applicable to any of the 3 lowest
income brackets in the table under section 1(c),''.
(vi) Section 3402(p)(2) of such Code is amended by striking
``15 percent'' and inserting ``10 percent''.
(vii) Section 3402(q)(1) of such Code is amended by
striking ``equal to 28 percent of such payment'' and
inserting ``equal to the product of the third lowest rate of
tax applicable under section 1(c) and such payment''.
(viii) Section 3402(r)(3) of such Code is amended by
striking ``31 percent'' and inserting ``the fourth lowest
rate of tax applicable under section 1(c)''.
(ix) Section 3406(a)(1) of such Code is amended by striking
``equal to 31 percent of such payment'' and inserting ``equal
to the product of the fourth lowest rate of tax applicable
under section 1(c) and such payment''.
(x) Section 13273 of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993
is amended by striking ``28 percent'' and inserting ``the
third lowest rate of tax applicable under section 1(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986''.
(C) Effective dates.--
(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the
amendments made by this paragraph shall apply to taxable
years beginning after December 31, 2001.
(ii) Amendments to withholding provisions.--The amendments
made by clauses (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), and (x) of
subparagraph (B) shall apply to amounts paid after December
31, 2001.
(b) Reserve Fund for Defense and Education.--Subtitle B of
title II of H. Con. Res. 83 (107th Congress) is amended by
inserting at the end the following:
``SEC. 219. STRATEGIC RESERVE FUND FOR DEFENSE AND EDUCATION.
If legislation is reported by the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate or the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, or an
amendment thereto is
[[Page S7324]]
offered or a conference report thereon is submitted, that
would increase funding for defense or education, the chairman
of the appropriate Committee on the Budget shall revise the
aggregates, functional totals, allocations, and other
appropriate levels and limits in this resolution for that
measure by not exceeding the amount resulting from the repeal
and amendments made by section ____(a) of the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2001 for fiscal years 2001 and 2002, as
long as that measure will not, when taken together with all
other previously enacted legislation, reduce the on-budget
surplus below the level of the Medicare Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund surplus in any fiscal year provided in this
resolution.''.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
be set aside.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 874
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for Senator
Wellstone under the authorized list.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Wellstone,
proposes an amendment numbered 874.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Program, with an offset)
On page 11, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:
(rescissions)
Sec. 1207. (a)(1) Effective July 31, 2001, of the funds
provided to the Secretary of Defense, for fiscal year 2001
administrative expenses, under the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2001, the Military Construction
Appropriations Act, 2001, and the Energy and Water
Development Appropriations Act, 2001, and remaining in
Federal appropriations accounts, an amount equal to
$150,000,000 is rescinded.
(2) Such amount shall be rescinded from such Federal
appropriations accounts as the Secretary of Defense shall
specify before July 31, 2001. In determining the accounts to
specify, the Secretary of Defense shall take into
consideration the need to promote efficiency, cost-
effectiveness, and productivity within the Department of
Defense, as well as to maintain readiness and troop quality
of life.
(b) Effective August 1, 2001, if the Secretary of Defense
has not specified accounts for rescissions under subsection
(a), of the funds described in subsection (a)(1) and
remaining in Federal appropriations accounts, an amount equal
to $150,000,000 is rescinded through proportional reductions
to the portions of such accounts that contain such funds.
On page 36, line 9, strike ``$300,000,000'' and insert
``$450,000,000''.
Amendment No. 875
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment
be set aside, and I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator
Johnson.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Johnson,
proposes an amendment numbered 875.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain
interest rate changes permanent)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ____. EXTENSION OF INTEREST RATE PROVISIONS.
(a) Technical Correction.--Paragraph (6) of section 455(b)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)), as
redesignated by section 8301(c)(1) of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105-178; 112
Stat. 498) is redesignated as paragraph (8) and inserted
after paragraph (7) of that section.
(b) Extension.--
(1) Amendments.--Sections 427A(k), 428C(c)(1),
438(b)(2)(I), and 455(b)(6) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1077a(k),
1078-3(c)(1), 1087-1(b)(2)(I), 1087e(b)(6)) are each amended
by striking ``and before July 1, 2003,'' each place it
appears.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Section 427A(k) of such Act is amended by striking the
subsection heading and inserting the following: ``Interest
Rates for New Loans on or After October 1, 1998.--''.
(B) Section 438(b)(2)(I) of such Act is amended--
(i) by striking the subparagraph heading and inserting the
following: ``Loans disbursed on or after january 1, 2000.--
''; and
(ii) in clause (i), by striking ``2000,'' and inserting
``2000''.
(C) Section 455(b)(6) of such Act is amended--
(i) by striking the paragraph heading and inserting the
following: ``Interest rate provision for new loans on or
after october 1, 1998.--''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``1999,'' and
inserting ``1999''.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, this amendment for Senator Johnson preserves
a bipartisan compromise achieved in the 1998 Higher Education Act that
reduced and stabilized higher education loan interest rates. The
amendment that has been offered amends the Higher Education Act to
continue the current student loan interest rate formulas, preserving
the successful system that helps put millions of students through
school every year.
The budget resolution includes a Technical Reserve Fund that makes it
possible to fix the problem in 2001 before a crisis develops in 2003
when the current formula for calculating interest rates is due to
expire. But the reserve fund in the resolution will expire early next
year. Therefore, action is needed now so that Congress and the
financial aid community can turn to improving financial aid programs
all over this country.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the
quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, in relation to the amendment I offered on
behalf of Senator Hollings, the Record should reflect that I have
spoken to the Senator from South Carolina on several occasions today.
He feels very strongly about the subject matter of this amendment. I am
glad I had this slot available for the Senator, and I am happy to have
offered this amendment on his behalf. Senator Hollings will be
available to speak more on the subject at a later time.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kerry). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
The Senator from West Virginia is recognized.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, under the order, Senators, to be eligible to
call up their amendments, had to offer those amendments by no later
than 6 p.m. today; am I correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. BYRD. Will the Chair please have the clerk state the amendments
that qualify on the morrow?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the qualified amendments.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Senator Schumer, amendment No. 862; Senator Feingold,
amendment No. 863; Senator Roberts, amendment No. 864;
Senator Voinovich, amendment No. 865; Senator Conrad, second-
degree amendment No. 866 to amendment No. 865; Senator
Conrad, amendment No. 867; Senator McCain, amendment No. 868;
Senator McCain, amendment No. 869; Senator Hutchinson,
amendment No. 870; Senator Craig, amendment No. 871; Senator
Bond, amendment No. 872; Senator Reid for Senator Hollings,
amendment No. 873; Senator Wellstone, amendment No. 874; and
Senator Johnson, amendment No. 875.
Mr. BYRD. I take it that the hour of 6 p.m. has arrived?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct; it has arrived.
Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________