[Congressional Record: April 23, 1998 (Digest)] [Page D394-D397] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:cr23ap98-1] Thursday, April 23, 1998 [[Page D394]] Daily Digest HIGHLIGHTS Senate passed Education Savings Act for Public and Private Schools. Senate Chamber Action Routine Proceedings, pages S3469-S3559 Measures Introduced: Eleven bills and three resolutions were introduced, as follows: S. 1971-1981, S.J. Res. 45, S. Con. Res. 90, and S. Res. 215. Pages S3534-35 Measures Reported: Reports were made as follows: S. 1360, to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to clarify and improve the requirements for the development of an automated entry-exit control system, to enhance land border control and enforcement, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. S. 1504, to adjust the immigration status of certain Haitian nationals who were provided refuge in the United States, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Page S3534 Measures Passed: Education Savings Act for Public and Private Schools: By 56 yeas to 43 nays (Vote No. 102), Senate passed H.R. 2646, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow tax-free expenditures from education individual retirement accounts for elementary and secondary school expenses, and to increase the maximum annual amount of contributions to such accounts, after taking action on amendments proposed thereto, as follows: Pages S3469-95, S3499-S3528 Adopted: By 58 yeas to 42 nays (Vote No. 96), Kempthorne Modified Amendment No. 2302 (to Amendment No. 2301), to provide for student improvement incentive awards. (By unanimous-consent, the amendment, as further modified, was considered as an amendment in the first degree.) Pages S3470-73 Coverdell (for McCain) Amendment No. 2298, to provide for a study of multilingualism in the United States. Pages S3484-85 Coverdell (for Dorgan) Amendment No. 2307, to amend the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 to promote school safety. Pages S3484-85 Levin/Bingaman Amendment No. 2299, to replace the expansion of education individual retirement accounts to elementary and secondary school expenses with an increase in the lifetime learning education credit for expenses of teachers in improving technology training, as amended. Pages S3473-76, S3492-93 Subsequently, the amendment was modified. Page S3494 Coverdell Amendment No. 2309, to make grants available to early childhood reading, to improve reading skills of students, to expand high-quality family literacy programs, and reduce the number of children who are referred to special education due to reading difficulties. Pages S3488-92, S3494 By 74 yeas to 26 nays (Vote No. 101), Bingaman Amendment No. 2308, to provide assistance to address school dropout problems. Pages S3485-88, S3494 Rejected: By 46 yeas to 54 nays (Vote No. 95), Coats Amendment No. 2297, to provide an additional incentive to donate to elementary and secondary schools or other organizations which provide scholarships to disadvantaged children. Pages S3469-70 By 34 yeas to 66 nays (Vote No. 97), Landrieu Amendment No. 2301, to provide funding to carry out a program that recognizes public and private elementary and secondary schools that have established standards of excellence. Pages S3470-73 Levin Amendment No. 2303 (to Amendment No. 2299, as amended), to replace the expansion of education individual retirement accounts to elementary and secondary school expenses with an increase in the lifetime learning education credit for expenses of teachers in improving technology training. (By 61 yeas to 39 nays (Vote No. 99), Senate tabled the amendment.) Pages S3473-76, S3492-93 [[Page D395]] By 49 yeas to 51 nays (Vote No. 100), Boxer Amendment No. 2306, to improve academic and social outcomes for students by providing productive activities during after school hours. Pages S3479-84, S3493-94 During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the following action: By 46 yeas to 53 nays (Vote No. 98), three-fifths of those Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, Senate rejected a motion to waive the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 with respect to consideration of Dodd Amendment No. 2305, to provide funding for part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Subsequently, a point of order that the amendment was in violation of Section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act was sustained, and the amendment thus fell. Pages S3476-79 Northern Ireland Peace Agreement: By a unanimous vote of 97 yeas (Vote No.103), Senate agreed to S. Con. Res. 90, to express the sense of the Congress in congratulating the participants in the negotiations resulting in the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement. Pages S3495-99, S3528-29 Request of the House: Senate agreed to S. Res. 215, directing the Secretary of the Senate to request the House of Representatives to return the official papers on S. 414, and to make a technical correction in the Act as passed by the Senate. Page S3559 State Department Reorganization Conference Report-Agreement: A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 1757, to consolidate international affairs agencies, to authorize appropriations for the Department of State and related agencies for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, to ensure that the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) proceeds in a manner consistent with United States interests, to strengthen relations between the United States and Russia, and to preserve the prerogatives of the Congress with respect to certain arms control agreements, on Friday, April 24, 1998, with a vote on the conference report to occur on Tuesday, April 28, 1998, at 2:25 p.m. Pages S3499, S3559 NATO Enlargement Treaty-Agreement: A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for the consideration of Treaty Doc. 105-36, Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on Accession of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, on Monday, April 27, 1998. Page S3499 Appointment: Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem: The Chair, on behalf of the President pro tempore, and upon the recommendation of the Democratic Leader, pursuant to the provisions of S. Res. 208 of the 105th Congress, appointed the following Senators to the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem: Senators Dodd, Moynihan, and Bingaman. Page S3559 Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations: Nikki Rush Tinsley, of Maryland, to be Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency. Robert A. Freedberg, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vice Thomas N. O'Neill, Jr., retired. David R. Herndon, of Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Illinois vice William L. Beatty, retired. Page S3559 Messages From the House: Page S3533 Measures Referred: Page S3533 Communications: Page S3534 Executive Reports of Committees: Page S3534 Statements on Introduced Bills: Pages S3535-44 Additional Cosponsors: Pages S3544-45 Amendments Submitted: Pages S3546-54 Notices of Hearings: Page S3554 Authority for Committees: Page S3554 Additional Statements: Pages S3554-59 Record Votes: Nine record votes were taken today. (Total--103) Pages S3470-73, S3479, S3493-94, S3528-29 Adjournment: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m., and adjourned at 8:27 p.m., until 10 a.m., on Friday, April 24, 1998. (For Senate's program, see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page S3559.) Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) FOOD STAMP PROGRAM Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded hearings to examine the incidence of fraud and abuse in the Food Stamp Program, focusing on proposed legislation to strengthen current laws to make it illegal for prisoners and fleeing felons to collect food stamps by requiring States to conduct criminal background checks on anyone applying for food stamps, and Federal efforts to ensure the integrity of the Food Stamp Program, after receiving testimony from Representative Menendez; Yvette S. Jackson, Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture; Robert A. [[Page D396]] Robinson, Director, Food and Agriculture Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, General Accounting Office; Chris Hamilton, Abt Associates Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Harold S. Beebout, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Washington, D.C. APPROPRIATIONS--FOREIGN ASSISTANCE Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Foreign Operations held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1999 for foreign assistance, focusing on a multi-year United States strategy to combat infectious diseases in developing countries, receiving testimony from James M. Hughes, Director, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services; Nils M.P. Daulaire, Senior Health Advisor, Population, Health and Nutrition Bureau for Programs and Policy, U.S. Agency for International Development; David L. Heymann, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; and Gail H. Cassell, Indianapolis, Indiana, on behalf of Eli Lilly and Company. Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, April 28. APPROPRIATIONS--FOREST SERVICE Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on the Interior and Related Agencies held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1999 for the Forest Service, receiving testimony from James R. Lyons, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, and Michael P. Dombeck, Chief, Forest Service, both of the Department of Agriculture, who were accompanied by several of their associates. Subcommittee recessed subject to call. APPROPRIATIONS--NASA Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1999 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, receiving testimony from Daniel S. Goldin, Administrator, NASA, who was accompanied by several of his associates. Subcommittee will meet again on Thursday, April 30. AVIATION COMPETITION Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Aviation concluded hearings to examine the Department of Transportation's policy regarding unfair exclusionary conduct in the aviation industry and the competitive implications of consolidation among United States airlines, after receiving testimony from Nancy E. McFadden, General Counsel, Department of Transportation; Richard B. Hirst, Northwest Airlines, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota; Alfred Kahn, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; Mark Kahan, Spirit Airlines, Eastpointe, Michigan; and Steven A. Morrison, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. PUBLIC LANDS MANAGEMENT Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management held hearings on S. 1253, to provide to the Federal land management agencies the authority and capability to manage effectively the federal lands in accordance with the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, receiving testimony from Idaho State Senator Judi Danielson, Council; Washington State Senator Robert Morton, Colville; Cindy Bowen, Montrose County, Colorado, and Louise Liston, Garfield County, Utah, both on behalf of the National Association of Counties; Sue Kupillas, Jackson County, Oregon; and Steve McClure, Union County, Oregon. Hearings were recessed subject to call. CLEAN AIR REGULATIONS Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety concluded hearings to examine the Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule to improve visibility and reduce regional haze in national parks and wilderness areas, after receiving testimony from John S. Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency; Christine L. Shaver, Chief of the Air Resources Division, National Park Service, Department of the Interior; Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt, Salt Lake City, on behalf of the Western Governors' Association; Randolph Wood, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Lincoln; Kenneth A. Colburn, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Concord; and Lynn M. Terry, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento. NOMINATIONS Committee on Finance: Committee concluded hearings on the nominations of Thelma J. Askey, of Tennessee, Jennifer Anne Hillman, of Indiana, and Stephen Koplan, of Virginia, each to be a Member of the United States International Trade Commission, and Patrick A. Mulloy, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Ms. Askey was introduced by Representative Archer, Ms. Hillman was introduced by Senator Lugar, Mr. Koplan was introduced by Representative Rangel, and Mr. Mulloy was introduced by Senators D'Amato and Sarbanes. [[Page D397]] TELEPHONE SLAMMING Committee on Governmental Affairs: Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations concluded hearings to examine issues relating to telephone slamming which is the unauthorized switching of a consumer's long-distance service, including S. 1740, to improve the protections against the unauthorized change of subscribers from one telecommunications carrier to another, which entities are most responsible for intentional slamming incidents, and the technique used to deceive consumers, after receiving testimony from Eljay B. Bowron, Assistant Comptroller General for Special Investigations, Office of Special Investigations, General Accounting Office; and William E. Kennard, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission BUSINESS MEETING Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: The nominations of James K. Robinson, of Michigan, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, and Wilma A. Lewis, to be United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, all of the Department of Justice; S. 1504, to adjust the immigration status of certain Haitian nationals who were provided refuge in the United States, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and S. 1360, to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to clarify and improve the requirements for the development of an automated entry-exit control system, and to enhance land border control and enforcement, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Also, committee began markup of the proposed Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, but did not complete action thereon, and will meet again on Thursday, April 30. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information concluded joint hearings with the Select Committee on Intelligence to examine Federal efforts in dealing with chemical and biological weapons threats to America, and the implementation of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (P.L. 104-132), after receiving testimony from Donald C. Latham, Member, Defense Science Board; Christine M. Gosden, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; and Richard Preston, New York, New York.