[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 58 (Thursday, May 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4125-S4127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  ATPA

  Mr. DASCHLE. Let me respond briefly to the Senator from Arizona. 
Nobody wants ATPA passed more than I do. I have attempted in many 
different ways over the last several weeks to

[[Page S4126]]

find the right formula to bring this about. I have talked about it, 
literally, for months. I will work with the Senator from Arizona and 
others. We are very aware of the May 16 deadline. I am very hopeful we 
can find a way with which to accommodate that deadline and make sure 
this job can be done.
  We are sensitive to the tremendous economic repercussions that will 
result if we are not successful. The stakes get higher with each 
passing hour, which is why I have been frustrated in my effort to move 
the process along all week.
  We spent a lot of time on the farm bill. We spent a lot of time 
waiting for some sort of negotiation when I think sometimes the best 
thing to do is just offer amendments. That is what we do in the Senate 
if there is a disagreement: At some point you offer an amendment, have 
a vote, and move on to the next amendment.
  There are those in the Senate who want the package to be just so, 
prior to the time they even allow us to move forward on a package.
  We will continue to work with those who have been in negotiation. I 
hope we can resolve this matter soon.
  Mr. LOTT. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. DASCHLE. I yield.
  Mr. LOTT. We did vitiate the cloture, withdraw the first-degree 
amendment, but I ask that we consider filing cloture on the underlying 
amendment, just ATPA.
  My cloture and amendment had been both trade promotion and Andean 
trade. If we file cloture on just the Andean Trade Preservation Act, 
that would ripen Monday night or Tuesday if we got an agreement, and it 
would at least guarantee we would be able to get that issue resolved 
and hopefully sent to the President by Tuesday or Wednesday, thus 
dealing with this problem that Senator McCain addresses. If we don't, 
we are going to have this deadline that we are facing.
  I say this in a bipartisan, nonpartisan spirit. It would be one way 
to make sure we get a vote on that. We could still get an agreement and 
vitiate if we had to and get the trade promotion authority and trade 
assistance also.
  I might say that I understand we need to try to make progress. But we 
have only spent about 12 hours on this bill and really only one serious 
amendment has been offered.
  I know you, Senator Daschle, would have liked to have had more 
amendments offered. Certainly we assume that will occur, perhaps even 
still. But we have not spent much time on the trade bill itself. I 
would address the question--urge you to consider, even today, within 
the next hour, filing cloture on the underlying ATPA. We could still 
get progress on these other bills without prejudicing this particular 
provision.
  That is the kind of thing I think Senator McCain would like to see us 
do. He is pressing me to file cloture on the underlying Andean Trade 
Preference Expansion Act. Would you consider that as we proceed this 
afternoon?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we are trying to make the most of what 
few days we have before the Memorial Day recess. That is an option. We 
have entertained it in the past. We have talked about it in the past. 
That would mean, of course, that TAA and TPA would fall if cloture is 
invoked, and I am not sure we would be able to get to it again prior to 
the Memorial Day recess, given all the other things we have to do. But 
that is an option. So we will weigh that carefully and consider what 
other choices we have, subject to some report from our colleagues. We 
will continue to negotiate.
  Mr. NICKLES. If my colleague will yield, I think Senator Lott and 
Senator McCain have a good idea. I urge you to seriously consider that. 
I hope it will not take cloture to pass any of the three bills. I 
likewise tell the majority leader, I think you will find Members on 
this side of the aisle--I think the majority leader has complicated his 
process by trying to put three bills together.
  Historically, we have passed Andean trade, passed trade promotion or 
fast track, and we passed trade adjustment assistance--independently 
and overwhelmingly, usually with 70-some votes. I believe there are 
still 70-some votes. The Senate historically has pretty much favored 
free trade.
  I think we would be happy to assist the majority leader to pass all 
three. We may have some differences, particularly on trade adjustment 
assistance. Maybe we will have to have a few amendments on each side. 
We will help you get a time agreement where we can pass all three bills 
by the Memorial Day recess. Maybe by separating the three bills we can 
accommodate the Andean countries that are in desperate shape. It would 
be a shame if we imposed tariffs on those poor countries, a tariff 
increase that they have not had for 10 years, if we do not get our work 
done on that bill by next week, by the 15th or 16th.
  Likewise, it would be a real mistake if this Senate doesn't pass 
trade promotion and trade adjustment assistance, however this Senate 
defines it.
  I tell the majority leader, I think if he breaks the three up, we 
could come up with time agreements and a limitation of amendments to 
finish all three bills.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator from Oklahoma for his generous offer 
of assistance. I would love nothing more than to get time agreements.
  I am told there is opposition to time agreements on both sides on 
each bill. As we know, given the time it takes to get through a motion 
to proceed if there is a filibuster, given the time it takes to get 
through a bill itself, procedurally, if there is a filibuster--each 
bill will take over a week if you did nothing more than move as 
expeditiously as you can given our Senate rules.
  Instead of doing three sequential filibuster-cloture, filibuster-
cloture, filibuster-cloture motions, we thought it might be better to 
do one and accommodate all the procedural impediments at once.
  That may or may not prove to have been the right strategy. But, 
clearly, we know it will take a long time. If it is the case, we will 
have to take these bills up sequentially, as I am told is the case 
right now. Maybe time will prove Senators will reconsider and be 
willing to move into a time agreement, at least on ATPA.
  We will try to vet that and perhaps we can move that. I think we 
ought to explore that possibility. But a sequential effort on each one 
of these will take us well into the middle of June, and I am not sure 
we have that kind of time.
  I appreciate the Senator's interest in working with us.
  Mr. NICKLES. If the Senator will yield a little further, I will be 
happy to shop it on our side. I do happen to think there are 
overwhelming majorities--probably on both sides of the aisle. We passed 
TPA out of the Finance Committee 18 to 3. Andean trade passed 
unanimously, I believe, in the Finance Committee. Trade adjustment 
assistance was considered and, frankly, the trade adjustment assistance 
that is in this bill never passed committee and some of us object to 
that. We are willing to have amendments to it. We are willing to find 
out where the votes are, if that is the way we have to go. Hopefully, 
some of the negotiations that are taking place today can help solve 
some of those problems. But we all know we need to move forward on all 
three pieces of legislation. I urge our colleagues, let's do it.
  I do question the wisdom of putting all three together. 
Historically--I remember Senator Byrd and I having a big debate on 
line-item veto and I used to say we should have a bill veto. Is it fair 
to the President of the United States to submit all three bills, each 
different, and say take it all or leave it all? He loses his Executive 
power or ability to sign or veto individual pieces of legislation.
  I hope we will consider trying to expedite this, come up with time 
agreements, pass all three bills, and let's see if we can get all three 
done by the Memorial Day break.
  Mr. DASCHLE. If the distinguished Senator from Oklahoma will be 
prepared to work with us on his side, we will see what prospects there 
are for doing something like that on one or more of the bills in the 
Senate in the next day.
  I am happy to yield to the Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I think it sounds good to have some 
cooperation with respect to time. But there is frustration on all sides 
with respect to this legislation. The issue of trade promotion 
authority, for example, came to

[[Page S4127]]

the floor. Then we had to go off, I believe for 12 hours, debating the 
Agriculture conference report, which took the better part of 2 full 
days.
  We have now, I believe, voted on only one amendment on trade 
promotion authority. That was the amendment I offered. And that was 
held over. We couldn't clear it after we had a tabling amendment. That 
was held over several days in order to clear that.
  Senator Dayton has an amendment. I have two additional amendments. I 
know other colleagues have amendments to trade promotion authority, but 
we have not been able to get at that, and my understanding was we had 
people on the floor on the other side saying they were not going to let 
us do anything until all of this gets negotiated to some successful 
conclusion.
  I think the way to legislate, I say to the majority leader, would be 
to allow us to proceed with the amendments. If there are those on the 
floor who are blocking it, perhaps the Senator from Oklahoma and the 
Senator from Mississippi, if it is on your side, might help us remove 
that block and let us get to the amendments and have votes on the 
amendments.
  Trade promotion authority is a reasonably controversial measure. 
People will have a fair number of amendments, but we have had one so 
far. It seems to me we ought to get at them and have votes on them.
  Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader has the floor.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield to the Senator.
  Mr. LOTT. I will respond to that. I think that is what we should do. 
That is what I just did; I offered an amendment. But because of concern 
about the fact we were in morning business, I withdrew it.
  I think that is the way to go. Hopefully, maybe we will come to an 
agreement this afternoon that will allow us to move forward on all 
three bills. If we do not, then what I urge we do is stay on the trade 
bill, have amendments, and go forward.
  I thank the Senator for yielding.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Senator Byrd informed me, while he intended to speak as 
in morning business today, he is going to postpone his speech on 
Mother's Day until tomorrow. So the floor is open, I notify all 
Senators.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. While the leaders are still on the floor, especially the 
Republican leader, I want everyone to know that what he did was 
entirely within his rights. What he did not know when he came on the 
floor is my counterpart, Senator Nickles, and I had an agreement. The 
majority leader had asked I keep us in a quorum call. That is what I 
intended to do.
  What Senator Lott did was in keeping with the rules of the Senate. 
What he did following, to vitiate his request, is not in the rules of 
the Senate. He did that because of the goodness of his heart, and I 
appreciate that very much. We have to work here, recognizing that no 
matter in what situation you may find yourself, it may not be one of 
total understanding at the time you do it. I appreciate very much 
Senator Lott withdrawing the cloture motion. I also appreciate his 
withdrawing the amendment. He did not have to do that. No one could 
have forced him to do that. We could have gotten into a procedural 
situation where we would move to table his amendment and things of that 
nature, but that would not have gotten us to the goal we wanted.

  I also express my appreciation to my friend from Oklahoma who 
expressed to the Republican leader what the arrangement was he and I 
had.
  Of course, I appreciate very much the majority leader working his way 
through this. I think it will be better for us all that we approach it 
in this manner.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

                          ____________________