[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 110 (Wednesday, August 1, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8534-S8536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ORDER OF PROCEDURE

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent the 
majority leader may, after consultation with the Republican leader, 
turn to the consideration of the export administration bill, S. 149, 
but not before September 4, 2001; further, that the Senate now turn to 
the consideration of H.R. 2620, the VA-HUD appropriations, and Senator 
Mikulski be recognized to offer the text of the Senate bill, S. 1216, 
as a substitute amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there is objection?
  Mrs. MURRAY. Reserving the right to object, and I will not object, 
but if I could just have 2 minutes before we go to VA-HUD for some 
final cleanup on the Transportation bill?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. TORRICELLI. Reserving the right to object, could I have 2 minutes 
after Senator Murray?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask that be part of the unanimous 
consent request.
  Mr. McCAIN. Reserving the right to object, I reserve 2 minutes after 
the Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I add that one, too.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.


            Unanimous Consent Agreement--Executive Calendar

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that immediately following the next rollcall vote, the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Asa 
Hutchinson to be Administrator for Drug Enforcement, that there be 30 
minutes for debate equally divided among Senators

[[Page S8535]]

Leahy, Hatch, and Hutchinson, that at the conclusion of that debate the 
Senate vote on the confirmation of that nomination, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately 
notified of the Senate's action, any statement thereon be printed in 
the Record, and the Senate return to legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. LOTT. Reserving the right to object for two purposes, first of 
all, let me clarify. In the middle of this request it says that there 
be--is it 10 minutes each for Leahy, Hatch, and Hutchinson, as opposed 
to 2 minutes for debate as has been earlier indicated? You put it at 10 
minutes each for those 3; is that correct?
  Mr. DASCHLE. That is correct, 30 minutes of debate equally divided 
among three Senators, 10 minutes each.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I was going to reserve on behalf of Senator 
Thompson, but I see that he is present. I withdraw my reservation so 
Senator Thompson can make this request himself.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, reserving right to object, I wanted to 
ask whether or not the unanimous consent request covered the 
consideration of the Export Administration Act.
  Mr. DASCHLE. The Senator is correct. The Export Administration Act is 
part of the unanimous consent agreement that we entered into a moment 
ago. It allows the majority leader to call up the bill on September 4.
  I say to my colleagues, and especially to my colleague from 
Tennessee, that this is an agreement he and I discussed prior to 
entering into the agreement. It acknowledges that we would have at 
least 2 full days of debate that would accommodate the interest of the 
Senator from Tennessee in discussing this issue prior to the time I 
would file a cloture motion. I confirm that for the Record, and fully 
expect that those 2 full days of debate will be immediately following 
the time we come back.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, my understanding was that there would be 
2 full days of debate on the bill and amendments. Does the Senator 
state in the unanimous consent as to when the bill would be taken up? 
Would it be September 4 or is that left open?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I indicated in the unanimous consent 
request that it would be at the discretion of the majority leader, but 
we did list September 4 as the anticipated date for the beginning of 
the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, if I may inquire, I believe we also 
discussed that the 2 full days--if that be the case--would be September 
5 and 6. Cloture would not be filed before September 7. Is that 
correct?
  Mr. DASCHLE. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. THOMPSON. I have no objection.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I thank the 
majority leader for his willingness to move a large number of nominees 
forward and to work with Senator Nickles also and Senator Reid to bring 
us the number we have today. I trust that some can move tomorrow out of 
committee, and possibly by Friday we will even advance a good many 
more. But I must tell you that there are others hanging in committee--
some that have been there since April and May.
  I must tell you that I was very frustrated when the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee asked about one nominee in particular and said we 
might get to him sometime next year. I do not know how to read that 
statement. But I will tell you, if I read it the way I thought it was 
intended, that is unacceptable. He has not had a hearing. And I know 
the chairman of the Judiciary Committee talked about the frustration of 
timing. But he has been before the committee since May 24.
  Things change around here substantially. All of us know that and 
accept that. But to suggest that we will not get to one of our 
President's important nominees for 1 year nearly after he is nominated, 
if that were to happen, September is going to be a pretty difficult 
month around here for all of us. I don't say that as a threat. I don't 
threaten. We know that. We don't do that in the Senate. But we cannot 
accept those kinds of statements coming from key chairmen of committees 
who have a responsibility to deal in a timely fashion with these 
nominees. If there is a problem, have the hearing, bring him out and 
vote him down. But don't suggest to him or to the administration that 
sometime next year we will have this happen.

  I was inclined to object. But thanks to Senator Nickles and also 
Senator Reid, and the work done here and the majority leader's 
willingness to advance it, I will not.
  But there are other opportunities. There is a very clear timeline to 
get an awful lot of work done in the Senate. I hope I am sending a 
message to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee that those kinds of 
statements and those kinds of actions cannot stand. Most importantly, 
if he chooses that, then vote him down and tell the administration that 
they have picked the wrong person--or people--and there are other 
nominees or someone who is more acceptable to that chairman and to the 
committee and to the Senate as a whole.
  As you know, I talked to the leader about the pure human side of 
this. People need to move their kids by August to get them in school. I 
think the majority leader has been sensitive to that. I mean that most 
sincerely, because the majority leader is moving a large number now, 
and that will allow them time to do what they need to do in the human 
sense.
  But it will be a real tragedy, if this Senate becomes part of a 
limiting factor on any administration's ability to bring together its 
team and execute the responsibility of the executive branch.
  I have spoken enough. I think my feelings are very clear. I must tell 
you that there will be an increasingly concerted effort, if those kinds 
of remarks and actions that follow are ones that will not move 
nominees, or give them their day, or vote them down and move on so we 
can fill these very important decisionmaking positions for our 
Government.
  I will not object. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Idaho. I feel I 
may need to call an ambulance. I think I just bit off my tongue.
  I will say in all sincerity that I think he just gave the speech that 
I have repeated probably 25 or 30 times over the last 6 years, 
verbatim. I can't tell you how many people languished for not days or 
weeks but years. But I have said on this floor repeatedly that we will 
not engage in payback. We will not engage in that kind of practice 
because I don't believe in it. But I must say the record so far speaks 
for itself.
  Since assuming the majority--and we have only been able to deal with 
nominations since we came back. Prior to that time, we didn't have 
Members on committees. Since the organizing resolution passed, we have 
held hearings on 114 Presidential nominees. This last week Democrats 
reported favorably out of committee 17 nominees. In addition, during 
the 17-day period when Democrats won the majority in January, 13 
hearings were held on Cabinet level appointees. During the brief time 
since the organizing resolution was passed, four judicial nominees have 
already had hearings before the committee, 100 percent more than were 
held before Senator Leahy became chairman. The majority has already 
confirmed three judicial nominees. President Bush has been slow to send 
the necessary documentation on some of the nominees. As of July 24, 34 
percent of the 132 nominees announced by the administration have not 
had their paperwork sent to the Senate.
  I guess my point is that we are trying to accommodate all of those 
nominees whose paperwork has been sent. I think today again 
demonstrates the sincere desire to continue making progress just as 
quickly as the committees report out their work. We have confirmed 110 
nominations since taking the majority, with an agreement on one more as 
soon as Mr. Hutchinson has been confirmed.

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, will the leader yield?
  Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield to the Senator.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader. I mean this 
most sincerely. We are about at the status quo between what Republicans 
were

[[Page S8536]]

able to do and what Democrats were able to do for President Clinton and 
what the majority leader is now doing. But I must tell you because the 
gentlemen and/or ladies have languished in these committees since April 
and May and their paperwork was there, there is something amiss.
  That was my objection. Obviously, the majority leader has now 
expedited them. We have worked with the majority leader, and I 
compliment him for that. I think that is important.
  But if there is a problem, let us not suggest that the gentleman 
doesn't get heard before next year. Let's send the right message 
instead of that kind of a statement. If there is a problem, what is the 
problem? If this person is unacceptable, hold the hearing, vote on him, 
and move him out or move him down.
  That is my point. We need to get on with the business of allowing our 
President to have his people in place to govern. We made a major step, 
and I thank the majority leader for that.

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Idaho for his 
comment. There clearly will be nominees who will face challenges. We 
see that in the Commerce Committee as we speak. There will be others. 
But we will do our level best. That does not mean we are going to roll 
over and rubberstamp every nominee who comes forward because that isn't 
why we are here.
  We have an obligation to ask questions, to review the data, and to 
make a decision. We are going to do that. But to whatever extent 
possible, we are going to be fair, and we are not going to reciprocate, 
even though I must say there are sometimes temptations that are fairly 
powerful. I hope we will continue to make progress on the nominations.
  I also thank my colleagues, Senator Reid and Senator Nickles, for 
moving us along on the nominations, and Senator Lott in particular for 
his work in trying to reach an accommodation.
  My desire now is to work relatively late into the evening so that we 
might be able to get some of these amendments disposed of tonight. I do 
not think we will finish the bill tonight, but there is a lot of work 
to be done on the VA-HUD bill. We still have the Ag appropriations 
legislation left to do. So there is much to be done. Today is Wednesday 
afternoon, and we still have a day and a half, or 2, 3, 4, or 5 days 
perhaps, to do our work. But it is going to get done before we leave.
  We will move now to the VA-HUD bill after the Senators who sought 
recognition are allowed to speak.
  I yield the floor.

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