[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3972-S3973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 180

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Chair lay 
before the Senate a message from the House on S. 180, that the Senate 
disagree to the House amendment, agree to the request for a conference 
on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and that the Chair be 
authorized to appoint conferees.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, I understand there is objection on our 
side. I am not fully aware of what the concerns are, but at this point 
I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I say to my friend from Oklahoma, we will 
work to see if this can be worked out at the staff level. Otherwise we 
will see what we can do at the Senate level.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I have tried again tonight to appoint 
conferees on the Sudan Peace Act. The House took this simple step late 
last year. This will be the third time we have sought consent to take 
this very simple procedural step. Each time our Republican colleagues 
have objected.
  What is happening in Sudan is a travesty. The government in Khartoum, 
the same government, incidentally, that gave shelter to Osama bin 
Laden, is waging a brutal civil war against the Christians in the south 
of that country. We are reminded of the brutality of this war in 
occasional newspaper stories, but the people of that ravaged land live 
this brutality daily.
  We all have our views on what the final Sudan Peace Act should look 
like,

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and I understand that there is significant concern with some of the 
provisions of the House-passed version of this bill. That's to be 
expected. What is unexpected--and unacceptable--is that there would be 
an objection to a simple procedural step to get to conference to 
resolve these differences.

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