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



                           THE SENATE AGENDA

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, we are now 23 days from the end of the 
last fiscal year, and 15 days before the election. So far, this 
Congress can be defined more by what it has failed to do than what it 
has done. The majority has so far succeeded in killing a number of 
critical initiatives needed by working families and senior citizens. 
The list of legislative corpses could fill several obituary pages.
  Here is the report card on this Congress: Patients' Bill of Rights, 
not done; prescription drug benefit for Medicare, not done; school 
modernization and renovation, not done; class-size reduction, not done; 
minimum wage increase, not done; pay equity, not done; farm bill 
reforms, not done; gun safety measures, not done; campaign finance 
reform, not done; hate crimes legislation, not done; Latino and 
Immigrant Fairness Act, not done; college tuition tax deductibility, 
not done; long-term care tax credit, not done; child care tax credit, 
not done.
  That list could go on and on but I think that summarizes it pretty 
well.
  One might ask, what have we been doing around here this year? Quite 
frankly, not a heck of a lot when it comes to the people's business. 
And not only regarding the agenda, there are important authorizations 
and reauthorizations that have not been authorized.
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the first time since 1965 
that Congress fails to reauthorize. The Violent Crime Control and Law 
Enforcement Act, Older Americans Act, the Superfund, Clean Water Act, 
Energy Policy Act and Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act--none 
of these reauthorizations have taken place this year.
  On top of that, we failed to pass our critical appropriations bills.
  Right now, we are meeting--I'm the Senate leading Democrat on the 
Labor-HHS and education bill--on our education appropriations bill. We 
are in negotiations now. We have been in negotiations since last July 
and we can't seem to get it done. We are talking about class-size 
reduction. We have had it for 2 years. It is working well. Go around to 
your States and talk to the schools. Teachers love it. They are getting 
more teachers in the classroom. They are getting aides, assistant to 
come in, especially for kids with disabilities. And right now the 
Republicans want to turn the clocks back. They don't want to do that 
anymore. They want to turn the clock back.
  On school modernization and construction, they don't want to do that 
one, either. Mr. President, 14 million American children attend classes 
in buildings that are unsafe or inadequate. How do we expect our kid to 
learn for the 21st century when they are in schools not equipped for 
the 20th century? Yet this Congress says no; no to the educational 
things that will make our kids better students, make our schools better 
schools, make the future a better one for all of our people. They say 
no.
  We have had for 3 years, a demonstration projects in Iowa on school 
repair, $17.6 million in Federal funds to make needed repairs. It is 
leveraged an additional $141 million, a ratio of $8 to every $1.
  It has been a great success. This is what we could expect around the 
nation if the Republicans would just get serious and fund this 
modernization and classroom construction program. We need to continue 
the class size reduction.
  I read this morning in the Congress Daily that the majority leader 
may make public a tax plan that he intends to pass before we leave: 
$260 billion over 10 years, more than the prescription drug plan that 
we do not even have time to consider. I am very disappointed that we 
have not considered a prescription drug plan. Now, we may have a $260 
billion tax plan dropped in front of us with a request to pass it 
before we have an opportunity to find out what is in it. I have not 
seen it. No one seems to have seen this tax bill. Unfortunately, I hear 
is it is full of tax breaks for the wealthy and breaks for the middle 
class and those with modest incomes are being taken out. If we do get a 
tax bill, we are going to have to look through this with a fine tooth 
comb before we vote on it. The American people deserve to know who 
benefits from this bill. I will be having more to say about that later, 
if and when we do see this so-called tax bill.


                       Unanimous Consent Request

  Mr. HARKIN. As I have almost every day we have been in session, now, 
for the last few weeks--I brought up the issue of Bonnie Campbell, who 
has bipartisan support, who has had her hearing in the Judiciary 
Committee, yet has not been reported out for a vote. This is it. We had 
7 nominations for circuit court judges, 2 had their hearings, one was 
referred, and one was confirmed--one out of 7 this year. Yet in 1992, 
when there was a Republican President and a Democratic Senate, we had 
14 nominations for circuit court judges in the election year, 9 had a 
hearing, 9 were referred, and 9 were confirmed. Everyone who had a 
hearing got confirmed, and that was during the election year. Yet this 
year we only got 1 out of 7.
  One of those stuck in there who has had the hearing is Bonnie 
Campbell, who headed the Office of Violence Against Women ever since it 
started. She has done an outstanding job at that. We passed the 
Violence Against Women Act. We reauthorized it by an overwhelming vote 
in the House and Senate. I think that is a testimony to the fact that 
Bonnie Campbell has done such an outstanding job of running that Office 
of Violence Against Women.
  She was nominated in March, had her hearing in May, yet she has been 
sitting there ever since. It is unfair to her. It is unfair to make her 
sit bottled up in that committee. So, as I do when I get on the floor:
  I ask unanimous consent to discharge the Judiciary Committee on 
further consideration of the nomination of Bonnie Campbell, that her 
nomination be considered by the Senate immediately following the 
conclusion of action on the pending matter and that debate on the 
nomination be limited to 2 hours, equally divided, and that a vote on 
her nomination occur immediately following the use or yielding back of 
that time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Stevens). Is there objection?
  Mr. LOTT. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. HARKIN. We always hear that objection, but we don't know why. She 
has had her hearing. Let's bring her out for a vote; do the decent 
thing. Bring her out and vote it up or down. That's the decent thing.
  Until we finish here, I will ask that unanimous consent to point out 
we are not the ones holding it up. All we want is a vote for Bonnie 
Campbell for the eighth circuit. I believe she deserves no less.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks recognition?
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. 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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