[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13477]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT--
                               Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mr. GORTON. Madam President, in less than 10 minutes, under the 
previous order, the Senate will move on to another subject. We have 
completed opening statements on the Interior appropriations bill. The 
two Senators from Minnesota have offered an amendment, and we have had 
notice of several others.
  This is simply to announce to my colleagues that sometime tomorrow--I 
hope relatively early tomorrow--we trust we will be in a position to 
make a unanimous consent request stating that there is a deadline for 
the filing of amendments. I do believe we will be able to begin to 
discuss actual amendments fairly promptly tomorrow morning, but as the 
majority leader said, in the evenings from now on, we will move to the 
Defense authorization bill. So Members who wish their amendments to be 
considered should notify both managers as promptly as possible, should 
file those amendments as promptly as possible, and should begin to 
arrange with the managers for times relatively convenient to all 
concerned to bring them up.
  The majority leader would like to finish this bill tomorrow. I must 
say that I join him fervently in that wish, a wish that is not, 
however, a prediction. Nonetheless, a great deal remains to be done 
this week. The more promptly Members can come to the floor with their 
amendments and see whether or not we can deal with them informally or 
whether they will require a vote the better off all Members of the 
Senate will be. It is doubtful we will get anything more accomplished 
between now and 3:30, however. So at this point I will suggest the 
absence of a quorum and will ask that it be called off at 3:30 so we 
can move to the next matter of business. I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I will use my leader time to make a 
couple of comments.

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