[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 57 (Thursday, April 29, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4632-S4634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1072

  Mr. BOND. Madam President, I thank my colleague from Wyoming for 
giving

[[Page S4633]]

us some time. We are in another critical juncture in our efforts to 
pass a transportation bill, a highway bill, or SAFTEA. I propose a 
unanimous consent request. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to the consideration of the House-passed highway bill, H.R. 3550; 
provided further that all after the enacting clause be stricken, and 
the text of S. 1072, as passed, be inserted in lieu thereof, the bill 
then be read a third time and passed; further, the Senate then insist 
on its amendment, request a conference with the House, and the Chair 
then be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate with 
a ratio of 11 to 10.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, reserving the right to object, as my good 
friend, the distinguished Senator from Missouri, knows, the current 
extension expires tomorrow. In fact, the House of Representatives has 
already passed it. That measure is at the desk now. We need to do 
something today that will not require further action by the House 
because they will be gone.
  I ask my colleague if he will agree that we need to act today on 
another extension of the highway bill, or if not today, tomorrow?
  Would the Senator agree to modify his request and provide for the 
immediate consideration of H.R. 4219, which is the bill I referred to 
just a minute ago, a 2-month extension of the highway bill, and that 
the Senate proceed then to its passage, the bill be read, of course, 
three times, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and there 
be no intervening action or debate?
  If we do this, it gives us time to continue our informal discussions 
about the larger bill.
  I hope the Senate will agree to pass this today to ensure that there 
are no disruptions in highway projects. I ask my friend to modify his 
unanimous consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator modify his request?
  Mr. BOND. Madam President, I would be happy to accept that as an 
addendum to my request. The problem is, we need to appoint conferees to 
the House. I want to call attention to the fact that for 11 weeks we 
have been stalled. If we cannot appoint conferees, then I have a hold 
on the extension. So unless my good friend is willing to accept the 
unanimous consent request I propounded, I cannot accept his unanimous 
consent request.
  Mr. REID. Further, Madam President----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request?
  Mr. REID. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, how much time is remaining on everything?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 10 minutes remaining to the 
majority.
  Mr. REID. That is all for morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
  Mr. REID. Then we have a Burma discussion; is that right?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. After the 10 minutes there is another 15-
minute period.

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent I be allowed to 
speak on my position for 5 minutes and give equal time for the 
majority.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCAIN. I reserve the right to object. I will not object, but I 
will point out to the Senator that we are prepared to move on to the 
Burma issue, and it is important. I know what the Senator wants to 
discuss: the importance of passing the highway bill and his objection 
and the usual degeneration that has taken place around here. We would 
like to talk about Burma and a woman who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner 
who is being kept under house arrest. But I will not object to the 
request of the Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. I apologize to the Senators here because the time has been 
allotted to him. I do appreciate the 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. We really do need to pass this 2-month extension. I say to 
my friend from Missouri and all others here, Senator Inhofe and I have 
worked very hard to move this bill along. The 11 weeks the Senator 
talked about, of course, a lot of that time we have been out of 
session. I have spoken to Chairman Young. He wants a bill. Senator 
Inhofe wants a bill. A bill has, in fact, passed both bodies by 
overwhelming majorities. To not allow this 2-month extension will cause 
a layoff of 5,000 people beginning Saturday. They will no longer be 
able to work. These are employees of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation.
  Not agreeing to the extension will cause new highway and bridge 
projects to be shelved. It will stop reimbursement payments to States 
for projects that already are incurred. It will halt safety grants, 
stop transportation projects in cities and towns, interrupt enforcement 
of motor carrier safety regulations, and disrupt safety inspections at 
the Nation's borders. This is a temporary extension designed to provide 
time for the Congress to complete its work on a fully funded 
authorization. The extension is a means to an end, and the end is the 
passage of a highway bill, so we need to get to work on that.
  Madam President, we have tried very hard to pass this bill. We got 76 
votes to pass it and get it to the President. We need to keep working 
on it. The Nation expects nothing less.
  As we discussed yesterday, the Republican leadership is going to meet 
later on to decide what they are going to do with this bill. I think 
that is appropriate. As I indicated, I wish that I and others were in 
on that discussion, but I am glad they are meeting.
  Madam President, the Americans for Transportation Mobility, which 
includes hundreds of organizations--hundreds, including the U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce, Associated General Contractors, International 
Union of Operating Engineers--and, as I say hundreds of other 
organizations, including organizations from the State of Missouri--the 
Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce, Lake of the Ozarks West Chamber of 
Commerce, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Springfield Area Chamber of 
Commerce--in effect, they have written a letter to each Senator. Among 
other things they say:

       As business and labor, we will only support a final 
     conference report at the Senate investment level for a six-
     year bill. To that end, we support agreement on funding 
     levels for the legislation before entering into a formal 
     conference committee. We urge that final legislation meet our 
     minimum $318 billion objective.

  So these hundreds of groups disagree with the Senator from Missouri, 
including people from his own State.
  I know how strongly he feels about a highway bill. I have talked to 
him. He has discussed this publicly and privately. But I think in 
effect he is shooting himself in the foot by not agreeing to the 2-
month extension. We have made progress in the few meetings that the two 
staffs have had.
  So I say to my friend, we have cleared on our side--there are no 
objections on our side to having a 2-month extension. I think it is a 
heavy weight for my friend to carry, to bring down everything that is 
going on around the country tomorrow by objecting to this 2-month 
extension.
  If that is the weight he wants to bear, that is what he has to bear. 
But I am very disappointed. As the Senator knows, we have had problems 
with conferences. That doesn't mean we can't complete important 
legislation as we have done on numerous occasions without a formal 
conference. In this instance, we may be able to do a conference, as I 
have spoken about with Senator Inhofe. We need to do a little more work 
this morning.
  I ask unanimous consent, in closing, to have printed in the Record 
the letter from Americans for Transportation Mobility, together with 
its members.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                   April 23, 2004.
       Dear Senator: The House and Senate will soon begin meeting 
     to reconcile differences on reauthorization of the federal 
     highway and transit law (H.R. 3550/S. 1072). The undersigned 
     organizations firmly believe there is no more important 
     legislation this year to benefit all industries, all 
     communities, all working people and the American economy.
       As we have stated previously, the appropriate investment 
     blueprint for this legislation is provided by the U.S. 
     Department of Transportation's recent Conditions and 
     Performance Report, which outlines that the federal 
     investment share necessary to begin

[[Page S4634]]

     improving the nation's surface transportation network is $375 
     billion over the next six years. The bi-partisan leaders of 
     the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee 
     identified this goal earlier this year and we continue to 
     support their efforts to reach this objective.
       The Senate passed TEA-21 reauthorization proposal (S. 1072) 
     would authorize a total of $318 billion for federal surface 
     transportation programs, with $294 billion in guaranteed 
     highway and transit investment over the next six years. The 
     Senate investment levels represent the mid-point between the 
     nation's surface transportation needs and the current 
     inadequate federal highway and transit funding levels.
       As business and labor, we will only support a final 
     conference report at the Senate investment level for a six-
     year bill. To that end, we support agreement on funding 
     levels for the legislation before entering into a formal 
     conference committee. We urge that final legislation meet our 
     minimum $318 billion objective.
       A $318 billion investment level would create and support 
     over 2 million American job opportunities and help address 
     the growing deterioration of the nation's highway, bridge and 
     transit infrastructure facilities. With the Department of 
     Transportation stating that 47,500 U.S. jobs are created for 
     every $1 billion of federal highway and transit investment, 
     investment levels below $318 billion would miss a critical 
     opportunity to create badly needed jobs.
       The U.S. is facing a transportation infrastructure deficit 
     that can no longer be ignored. Traffic crashes cost our 
     society $230 billion per year and inadequate roadway 
     conditions are a factor in one-third of these accidents. 
     Traffic congestion robs $70 billion per year from the U.S. 
     economy and denies Americans time with their families. A 
     recent study has shown the number of traffic bottlenecks 
     nationwide have grown from 167 to 233, while only one-quarter 
     of households have access to adequate public transportation. 
     This situation will only get worse if we do not enact a 
     reauthorization bill of at least $318 billion.
       The Senate-proposed investment levels are attainable 
     without raising the federal gas tax or user fee, or 
     increasing the federal deficit. It continues the important 
     principle of paying for highways, bridges and transit through 
     the Highway Trust Fund. As such, the $318 billion investment 
     level complies with surface transportation program financing 
     parameters identified by the Bush Administration.
       We strongly urge the conferees and the bipartisan House/
     Senate Leadership to support a $318 billion investment level. 
     Our business and labor organizations, and the American 
     people, will accept nothing less. Thank you for your 
     consideration.
           Sincerely,
       Americans for Transportation Mobility.
       Transportation Construction Coalition.

  Mr. REID. I extend my appreciation to everyone on the other side of 
the aisle for extending me the extra 5 minutes.
  Mr. BOND. Madam President, I want to reclaim my time. First, let me 
say I know all the pressures. I know the people my good friend from 
Nevada mentioned. They want a highway bill at $318 billion that we 
passed. I want one. I have long quotations. I have all kinds of people 
behind me. The chairman of the committee, Senator Inhofe wants it. I 
know that Senator Reid wants it and Senator Jeffords wants it. But do 
you know something, we can't do anything because we are opposed, we are 
blocked by the minority from going to conference.
  A lot of people in America don't understand. They have heard about 
filibusters. They know we filibuster judges around here. They know we 
filibuster bills. But this is the first time I know of where a bill 
that has passed this body with 76 votes has been stopped from going to 
conference by the opposition of the minority.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BOND. I am happy to yield to the assistant leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I say to my friend from Missouri, it is not actually 
the first time this has happened. It has become, actually, repetitious. 
They prevented us from going to conference on the CARE Act, the 
Bankruptcy Act, the Workforce Investment Act, the Patients Safety Act, 
not to mention the Transportation bill. So there is a pattern, I would 
say to my friend from Missouri, which is that the minority is saying to 
the majority of the Senate and to the majority in the House: You make 
the bill exactly the way we want it or we won't let the legislative 
process go forward. Complete stalemate.
  Mr. BOND. Madam President, I thank my colleague and neighbor for the 
clarification. I have never seen, in my history, a bill passing the 
Senate with this much support, that is so important to our Nation, 
being held up. It is 11 weeks since we passed a highway bill, the $318 
billion Surface Transportation Equity Act. To get it to conference, we 
have to have the approval of the minority.
  I am taking this step. I am taking this radical step because the 
people of America need to know. When I go home, they say: How come we 
don't have a highway bill? They don't understand that we are being 
blocked from going to conference. We can't work out the differences 
between the House and Senate unless we can go to conference. If there 
has ever been a bipartisan bill, I believe this bill is it.
  Chairman Inhofe with Senator Jeffords, Senator Reid and I have 
worked, I think collegially and effectively, in bringing a good bill to 
the floor of the Senate. I appreciate the work that my colleagues did.
  It is obvious when the bill passes with 76 votes that it was a good 
bipartisan bill. We can't tell what is going to come out of conference. 
I am going to go into conference saying we need a $318 billion bill. 
But if we can't go to conference, we can't even take that step.
  We have been delayed and delayed from going to conference. That is 
what, unfortunately, we have to explain to our constituents around the 
country--that the transportation system lifeline to our country and our 
economy is being held up. We cannot take the next step and make the 
major investment in the future of this system to promote increased 
employment, decrease congestion, enhance security, to lay the sinews of 
economic development for the future and, most of all, provide safety on 
our highways.
  There are 43,000 Americans killed on the highways each year; in 
Missouri, more than three a day, and at least one and probably more of 
those are killed because of inadequate highways. What can we do about 
it? We can do something in the Senate. But we don't get the job done. 
We have to sit down and work with our colleagues in the House and come 
up with a compromise proposal that I hope looks like our bill in the 
Senate.
  I am going to fight as hard as I can when we can get to conference. 
But until we can get to conference, we don't know and there is no hope 
of us getting a new bill. That is why I have placed a hold on the 
extension of the highway bill. Yes, this is a drastic measure. How long 
are we going to kick the ball down the road? I objected to holding up 
the first extension, but we have had extension after extension after 
extension. When are we going to get a bill? It is very simple. We can 
have this bill. We can have the extension if the minority will agree to 
let us appoint conferees so this can go to conference.
  I assure you that we will continue to work, Senator Inhofe, our 
ranking members, Senators Jeffords and Reid, as we did before to get a 
bill that looks as much like the Senate bill as we possibly can, but 
until we do that, I am going to continue to object to the extension. I 
regret we have to take this drastic action, but the people of America 
and the people concerned about highways need to know what is causing 
this problem.
  I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, first of all, to show how unrelated the 
statements are to reality, we couldn't have gone to conference 11 weeks 
ago. The House didn't pass the bill until the first part of April. The 
bill has been passed for 3 weeks. So there is no 11 weeks. That is 
certainly not a valid statement.
  I repeat: We need to pass this 2-month extension in an effort to get 
this bill moving. If we don't pass a 2-month extension, 5,000 people 
are going to be laid off starting Saturday. This is no joke. This is 
not hyperbole. This is a fact. People will be laid off and construction 
projects around the country will come to standstill.
  We can talk about the fact that in previous months we have enacted 
into law many pieces of legislation. We have entered into law 60 pieces 
of legislation without a conference. We have preconferenced them. We 
can do that on the highway bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

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