[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17460]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        THE DEMOCRATS' STRATEGY

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I have to respond to something that was in 
today's USA Today paper, September 8. I know the Presiding Officer is a 
member of our leadership. Let me, for a few moments, tell you what he 
and I are going to expect in the final month of this Congress. I am 
quoting now an article about Senate minority leader Tom Daschle. It is 
reported here that they have a simple strategy; the Democrats have a 
simple strategy for winning the final negotiations over spending.
  In other words, they want to spend more of your money than we are 
proposing to be spent by some billions of dollars. Here is their 
strategy, and he admitted it: Stall until the Republicans have to cave 
in because they can't wait any longer to recess. That means shut the 
Congress down and get out on the campaign trail. Why? Well, because 18 
of the 29 Senators seeking reelection are Republicans this year and 11 
are Democrats, and there are a lot of vulnerable Republicans, according 
to Senator Daschle. He says, ``We only have one vulnerable Democrat, 
and he happens to be just across the river.'' I think he was probably 
referring to Senator Chuck Robb.
  Well, if that is the strategy of the Democrats, let me repeat it 
because that is what they have been doing for 3 long months: Stall, 
stall, stall. Yet they turn around and tell our friends in the press it 
is a ``do-nothing Congress.'' I don't see how the press can mix that 
one up as much as they have. You have the minority leader of the Senate 
admitting that their strategy for the balance of September will be to 
stall until the Republicans cave.
  Thank you, Mr. Daschle, for telling us your plan. We will attempt to 
offset those by working as hard as we can. It probably means we will be 
working late into the night so that we can get the work of the Congress 
done, get our appropriations bills finished, deal with the most 
important trade issue that is on the floor--PNTR--and that is, of 
course, permanent normal trade relation status for China.

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