[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S11769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TWO-YEAR BUDGETING

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I know it is late and there is nobody 
here. Somehow or another, it seems like, when you have things that are 
moving along and moving rather slowly, you have to regularly call them 
to the attention of the Senate.
  I do not have anything but great praise for how we got here with this 
bill. Everybody is saying it could not be helped. Senator Reid and I 
understand. A piece of this bill is ours. We could never get it done 
until late in the session because it seemed as if nobody wanted to 
understand the problem we had. We couldn't do the things we were 
supposed to do because there was a misunderstanding in the budget about 
how to pay for things. So that was done.
  The thing is, if Senators had before them tonight, before this bill, 
a final vote on a measure that said we are going to do this every 2 
years instead of every 1 year, and we are going to do a budget 
resolution for 2 years, do you know what would have happened? It would 
have passed with 75 votes because people around here understand we do 
not have to do this every year. You can do it for 2 years, with 2-year 
budgets and the right to have, in between those appropriations bills, 
the special kind of special needs appropriations.
  It certainly would not be like it is now. You have those now and you 
have appropriations every year. You have the supplemental 
appropriations.
  I took this minute to say someone, sometime--maybe before I leave 
here--will do that. I actually believe the House is ready. They voted 
on it. They didn't have the bill we would have, but we could go to 
conference. But I just want to use this last few minutes. Nobody is 
around and I ought to be out of here at home. I have some new 
grandchildren at home and they can't watch me at this late hour because 
they are too little, so I should be gone.
  But it is good to have an example. Frankly, I think if we had 2-year 
appropriations, we wouldn't have this because I think the individual 
bills would be done, if you had, instead of every year, 2 years to do 
them. I think we would have a lot of time for oversight and other 
things we do not do. In fact, my memory is not as good as it was and I 
can't tell you the percent, but a huge amount of the Senate's voting 
time and floor time is used for just three things: budget, 
appropriations, and supplemental appropriations. That is a huge amount 
of the time. I don't know how we get all the other things done.
  So if we could do it every 2 years, it seems to me we would all be 
the better for it. We would be less apt to have this kind of thing 
occur with an omnibus, meaning overall, many--all put in one.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Talent). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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