[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 23126-23127]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  TREASURY-POSTAL/LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, last week, the Senate passed a conference 
report which contained the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, the 
legislative branch appropriations bill, and a repeal of the century-old 
telephone excise tax. This package was the first of the several ``mini-
omnibus'' packages we will likely consider in the waning days of this 
Congress, and unfortunately, it demonstrates the fundamental problems 
associated with this type of legislating.
  I voted against this mini-omnibus for several reasons. The Senate 
never had the opportunity to even consider the Treasury-Postal bill on 
the floor. Many issues that are critical to Senators could not receive 
deliberation because of the unwillingness of the leaders to allow the 
Senate to fulfill its constitutional directive of deliberating on the 
crucial issues facing the nation. I will not review the entire list of 
neglected issues again. That recitation has occurred elsewhere, and I 
am confident we will hear more about them in the coming days.
  Suffice it to say, I deplore the procedure that permits unpassed 
appropriations bills to go right to conference. Other than the 
procedural irregularity, I opposed this conference report because it 
did not contain language to strike the congressional pay raise. It is 
unfathomable to me that at a time we cannot raise the minimum wage to 
bring a full-time worker above the poverty line, we once again raise 
salaries for Members of Congress. I have opposed any effort to raise 
congressional salaries in every year since 1994. I, and similarly-
minded colleagues, were denied the opportunity to fully debate

[[Page 23127]]

this issue. I cannot support this increase, especially under the 
current circumstances with so much unfinished business.
  Unfortunately, many initiatives I support were also included in this 
package. Among them is the repeal of the telephone excise tax, a 
revenue used originally to help fund the Spanish-American war. This 
three percent surcharge is among the most regressive taxes, and I was 
proud to be an early cosponsor of the effort to repeal it. In addition 
to cosponsoring the original legislation, I voted to repeal this tax 
when the repeal was offered as an amendment to the estate tax repeal.
  In a time of unprecedented surpluses, we must fix some of the 
inequities in the tax code. I am disappointed we have not managed to 
accomplish more. Once again, this is indicative of the overly partisan 
nature of Senate activity, and this partisanship has blocked fair tax 
reform. Nonetheless, I am pleased we have at least resolved the federal 
telephone excise tax, a reform which will save all Americans $51 
billion over the next decade. I commend the major telephone providers 
for committing to pass fully these savings to consumers, and I once 
again regret that the unique and deplorable manner in which this 
Congress is fulfilling its responsibilities forced me to vote against 
this package.

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