[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 23788-23789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         ORDER FOR ADJOURNMENT

  Mr. LOTT. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, 
I ask that the Senate stand in recess under the previous order, 
following the remarks of Senators Harkin, Landrieu, Reid, Dorgan, 
Durbin, and Lott.
  Mr. DORGAN. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. LOTT. I am happy to withhold the final request.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I merely want to ask the majority leader a 
bit more about the schedule. I understand there are no votes tomorrow, 
on Tuesday, and the potential of votes on Wednesday. I missed part of 
the presentation of the majority leader for which I apologize.
  Is it the intention of the majority leader to try to complete 
business this week?
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I am happy to repeat it because I know we 
want to make sure all Senators have heard this. We have four 
appropriations bills that are in some degree of completion. I think two 
of them have been wrapped up and two are still being discussed between 
the House, the Senate, and the White House. It is possible the House 
will act on one of those appropriations bills on Tuesday, but it 
appears it wouldn't be until late in the afternoon or even early 
evening, so we wouldn't get it until late Tuesday or perhaps Wednesday 
morning.
  We also have a discussion underway involving a tax bill which would 
provide for FSC and the pension and IRAs that have been approved by the 
Senate Finance Committee, so that could be completed and be available 
late tomorrow afternoon. But both of those would also probably be done 
on Wednesday.
  Hopefully, with three or four votes, we would be able to complete the 
session for the year. That could be done Wednesday; hopefully it will 
be done not later than Thursday. Of course, that all is dependent upon 
final agreement between the two bodies and final comments we might get 
from the White House.
  Mr. DORGAN. I thank the majority leader for his response.
  Might I inquire on one further issue, the issue of the tax matters 
that the Senator described? Can the Senator tell me how those tax 
issues will come to the floor of the Senate and the House? In what 
form? Attached to what legislation?
  Mr. LOTT. I don't mean for that to be all inclusive. I assume we will 
be clearing bills right along as we did last week and this week. We 
also have a number of Executive Calendar nominations that we anticipate 
clearing. I started the process last week to get to a vote on 
bankruptcy. We hope that will also come up, probably Thursday, before 
we go out.
  With regard to the tax provisions, there is a bill to which they 
would be attached. I don't recall the number right offhand. It does 
relate to small businesses, small business tax relief, but I can't give 
an exact name.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from New York.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I wonder if I might ask our 
distinguished leader, he mentioned the Executive Calendar. The Finance 
Committee has held hearings on six nominees, two tax court judges of 
some considerable salience, two public trustees of the Social Security 
trust funds. We have not been able to find a committee presence, a 
majority in which to report out the measure.
  We had hoped that possibly the committee might be discharged. These 
are persons of distinction who we all want to be in place. Will that be 
possible?
  Mr. LOTT. If I could respond, I understand there are two tax court 
judges, two trustees with the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, 
two Social Security advisory board nominees, and Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce. It is our intent to get clearance to discharge committee and 
confirm those before we go out--hopefully, maybe even tomorrow; 
certainly, Wednesday or Thursday. But we have the list and we are going 
to be working on that.

[[Page 23789]]


  Mr. MOYNIHAN. That is most reassuring. I thank the leader.
  Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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